


the art of thievery (quand tu as volé mon coeur)

by baeconandeggs, serenitysebaeks



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Death of Close Friend, Explicit Smut, Insecurity Issues, M/M, Unlabeled Relationships, dealing with grief, grief-related depression, short depiction of death/violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-02-04 12:59:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 54,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18605002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baeconandeggs/pseuds/baeconandeggs, https://archiveofourown.org/users/serenitysebaeks/pseuds/serenitysebaeks
Summary: Baekhyun has been dealt the tough cards in life. No matter how much he tries to run away from his past, it seems to catch up to him. In one final desperate attempt to free himself of it, he meets someone that tempts him to stop running.





	1. deux ans avant

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer: baeconandeggs/the mods is/are not the author/s of this story. Authors will be credited and tagged after reveals.** The celebrities' names/images are merely borrowed and do not represent who the celebrities are in real life. No offense is intended towards them, their families or friends. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this fictional work. No copyright infringement is intended.
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>  **Author's Note:** Well, this fic has been my little passion project for MONTHS now and has gotten me through some tough personal stuff as well, so it's very special to me. I'd like to thank the bae mods for giving me the opportunity to actually write it :) I'd also like to thank the prompter for sending in their prompt, and also apologize because I changed it a lot, but I hope you like it anyway! I've never written a fic anywhere near this magnitude before, and it was planned to be around 30k but it kind of ran away from me and ended up almost twice as long as that, but I couldn't stop until I finished telling the whole story.
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> I'd like to thank my best friend J for helping me with the plot when I needed her and for listening to my rants and gasping at all my plot twists, lol. If she hadn't pushed me, I probably wouldn't have finished this fic on time.
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> The heist in this fic is loosely based on the heist on the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts that occurred in 1990. Names of paintings actually stolen were used here, as well as loose descriptions of the museum itself. This fic isn't an actual representation of the museum or the heist, as I have not been to the museum and took fictional liberties. The city of Boston also may be portrayed with inaccuracies in order to suit the fic. Finally, I promise I'm not involved in any shady or illegal business, so I don't have the faintest idea myself how to commit crimes of this magnitude or hack into museum systems, so some embellishing was done on that for the purposes of the plot as well.
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> Thank you for reading through these notes if you have, and I sincerely hope you enjoy the story!

Paris had a different air to it now.

 

It had been weeks now of Baekhyun too upset to get out of bed, weak from not eating and not caring. His thoughts seemed to plague him more and more and he found himself sleeping to get rid of them whenever he could.

 

As one of the most valuable members of one of Paris’s largest underground gangs, the Wolves, it was strange for him to be moping like this - even when his favorite recruits that he’d trained, kids just a few years younger than him, had gone on missions and not come back, he normally dealt with his grief by working even harder, begging their leader, Kyungsoo, to give him another job, no matter how minuscule.

 

But this was different. 

 

His childhood in Paris had been filled with rejection after rejection from other foster kids and foster families until he had accepted his fate of being unloved and left the dreadful orphanage he’d grown up in. Being on the streets hadn’t been his fate though, and within a few weeks, he was picked up by the gang. Traveling between different abandoned warehouses that served as headquarters, he’d gained a reputation for himself for thievery, and Kyungsoo soon sent him on missions to steal priceless jewels, art, cargo, and even cash. But his knack for it paled in comparison to the friend he had made.

 

Jongin had been a cocky little bastard when he first appeared on the doorstep. Kyungsoo has given him to Baekhyun to break in once Jongin had shown off considerable hacking and technology skills that proved useful to the Wolves. Instead of training him, though, they ended up close, close enough that Baekhyun finally realized why people craved human interaction - a friend or anyone that even loved him had never been a luxury he had in life.

 

Teasing in headquarters turned into missions together turned into sneaking out and exploring the city Baekhyun had never had the pleasure to enjoy before. There was something about Jongin’s smile and laugh and the way they fell so perfectly together that made Baekhyun care for something that he’d never had before.

 

Until recently.

 

Baekhyun was quite certain the sight would never leave his memory, the moment playing in repeat in his brain forever like a broken or possessed record he couldn’t get to stop.

 

Their most recent mission. The only failure Baekhyun had experienced during one in his life. An ambush by their rivals, the Snakes, who had caught them in a shoot-off as they both went for the same prize. The Snakes ran off with it and the Wolves came home empty handed, their numbers diminished in their unpreparedness.

 

Jongin was among the number dead.

 

Baekhyun knew for such a free spirit, one impossible to tame that lived in his friend, a gunshot wound shouldn’t have taken him down, not when he made Baekhyun feel alive for once in the otherwise living hell that was gang life. Jongin had promised him escape one day and a life they could make their own without running from the laws of the government and the laws of their own underground society. But Baekhyun had undone all that by trying to warn him, calling out Jongin’s name as he watched the other man pull the trigger and screaming when Jongin turned to look at him and lost his life in the process.

 

It was a horrifying memory and a worse experience to the point that Baekhyun had vomited somewhere along with the tears he hadn’t known were falling, his entire body numb and useless in combat. He’d pissed off a few other gang members in his shock for letting more fall because of his lack of covering for them, but it was a miracle he was even alive himself, with how dumbstruck he had been at the scene.

 

Now he almost wished he had been shot down; it would have been easier than the horrifying and heavy guilt seeming to suffocate him from inside his heart.

 

The feeling was only growing worse as time passed, and by the time Kyungsoo had knocked on his door before opening it and demanding Baekhyun to leave, Baekhyun had had enough already.

 

“I’m leaving,” Baekhyun said, deadpan, and ignoring Kyungsoo’s lack of expression. Their leader had never reacted wildly to his subordinates’ claims.

 

“Where are you going?” Kyungsoo asked as he saw the small, torn apart satchel Baekhyun had thrown clothes and a sketchbook into - it had been his project of all of the past 20 minutes and the longest he had been out of bed for days. 

 

“I don’t know, I don’t care,” Baekhyun answered truthfully. He bent down to reach behind the plain dresser, reaching for the bag they had flattened against the wall, filled with cash they had been stuffing away. For him and Jongin to leave. It was happening much sooner than expected, but without one of them.

 

He held the cash bag up in front of Kyungsoo’s face, something he never would have shown off a few weeks ago, but Jongin’s death had already began to cause deep shifts in his being.

 

“Are you going to let me go or not?” Baekhyun asked boldly. Kyungsoo crossed his arms from his place in the doorway, but in an exasperated rather than intimidating way, as if Baekhyun was just an unruly child and Kyungsoo the overworked father.

 

There was a pause that felt like a dare in the small room, and Baekhyun’s heart lifted a little in hope, a lighter feeling than he had experienced since the ambush. 

 

“Go,” Kyungsoo said and Baekhyun could hardly believe his ears. “You’re going to hate every second you stay here after this, and I don’t want to deal with one of you when you’re anything less than obedient.”

 

Baekhyun was stunned silent and he almost let the cash bag slip out of his hand before he caught what he was doing and grasped it even tighter. This room that him and Jongin shared held too much baggage for him now; he needed to get away. For all his yearning of freedom that had filled him prior, it was now more of a necessity as grief overruled his every action.

 

It was with a different determination that Baekhyun walked out of the warehouse that day, leaving Kyungsoo and the others behind without an explanation. A new sense of survival kicked in, the only thing that would drive him on rather than happiness; his happiness had been protected by his only friend who had met his cruel end too soon.

 

Baekhyun was out of Paris by dark, on a plane and trying to ignore the distaste in the passenger next to him at his outfit. He had thrown out the jacket with the Wolves emblem already, but the rips in his clothes well worn during missions had to have been a bit of a shock compared to suit-wearing companion.

 

Hours later, avoiding sleeping for fear of being captured in the nightmares that had plagued him so recently and screaming in his dreams, the plane landed. Baekhyun stepped out into a country he had never known and with a language he was but barely familiar with. But the unfamiliar people and strange setting were just enough - a drastic change with no ties back to the country that had continued to take and take from him.

 

America.

 

Baekhyun didn’t know where he would go next, but the same survival instinct was in place. He avoided the eyes of fellow travelers and held onto his satchel, the only remnant of his life in Paris.

 

And with one step, he left the airport into the outdoor air and headed towards an uncertain future.


	2. le vol

Years after he had arrived in America, Baekhyun had awoken to begin a grueling daily routine he had settled into.

Getting ready everyday included preparing for work, a job he had at a retail store inside a Boston mall. He’d pack his bag with his work things, his phone, and his laptop, too - Baekhyun had started taking online classes a year ago to get some semblance of an education that went past enough math, reading comprehension, and writing skills that had let him skirt by while with the Wolves. He was determined to get somewhere a little farther than retail, having grown restless in a job that was considerably less exciting than being involved in illegal heists for a long time now. At least, some days he was determined.

Today wasn’t really one of those days.

“Aren’t you tired of working here?” Yixing asked as they sat down at their usual table in the coffee shop. Baekhyun laid his head on the table after he set his coffee down. He would love to just stay there and take a well-deserved nap after the beating his pride had taken dealing with angry customers, but of course he had to go back to work in just half an hour.

Yixing was giving him an apologetic look as Baekhyun sat up, blinking in a sad attempt to rid some of his sleepiness. He took a sip of his coffee without saying anything. Yixing reached forward, placing his hand on top of Baekhyun’s and rubbing it in a comforting way. 

“It’ll get better,” Yixing said and Baekhyun nodded, knowing he was right. His tiredness was mostly due to the night classes at the local university he was taking, making him have to pile homework on top of endless hours of work, just to make ends meet. Baekhyun knew he had to get through it for it to get better, but the bags under his eyes from lack of sleep were just one sign of his current struggles along the way.

Baekhyun’s mind was mostly checked out as they made small talk and he waited for the caffeine to kick in, but he hadn’t realized he wouldn’t end up needing it. The bell hanging above the door in the coffee shop rang cheerfully as it swung open and let the cold air rush in from outside, but Baekhyun felt anything but cheerful as he caught sight of the man who came in with the wind.

Kyungsoo Do looked much different than Baekhyun remembered him, wearing a long, black coat and glasses, with his hair grown out and fluffy in a way that made him look quite harmless. It was a definite contrast between the tighter, leather clothes, buzzcut, and stoneless expression he had worn from the years Baekhyun had known him. Still even with his changed appearance, the sight of him made Baekhyun’s blood run cold.

It didn’t help that Kyungsoo was staring right at him.

Baekhyun’s expression must have given away his shock, because Yixing stopped mid-sentence and turned around, looking in the direction Baekhyun had stared at. 

“Do you know him?” Yixing questioned and Baekhyun almost laughed at the words. No matter how much Baekhyun enjoyed his company, he would never explain his relation to Kyungsoo to him. It would only put him in danger.

“I’ll be right back,” Baekhyun said as he rose, leaving both Yixing and his half-empty coffee on the table. Kyungsoo had sat down at a booth by the window, looking out of it intently even though he was aware Baekhyun was approaching. 

“Thrilled to see me, aren’t you?” Kyungsoo asked, slipping into their native French as Baekhyun slid into the seat across from him, though they both knew the answer to that question. Baekhyun spotted yet more differences from years ago when Kyungsoo turned to meet his eyes, in the way his voice had gotten deeper and his gaze seemed less determined. It was yet more proof to Baekhyun that he should be glad he managed to escape Paris. 

“Why are you here?” Baekhyun asked. Speaking in French again, even if it felt much more natural than the English he still spoke with an accent even after years in America, and being forced to face a ghost of his past was making him uneasy.

There was an uneasy pause before Kyungsoo spoke again. 

“I’ve been caught,” he admitted with defeat. Baekhyun was taken aback; Kyungsoo had always been the perfect leader, even if Baekhyun couldn’t stand what he sent him out to do most of the time. What could he have gotten caught for?

Kyungsoo saw the confusion on his face and let out a chuckle, completely empty of humor.

“I’ve been sleeping with Jongdae. As you may have imagined, it’s not supported very much,” Kyungsoo stated. Baekhyun almost choked on air.

“Jongdae as in, the leader of the Snakes, Jongdae?” He asked, in shock and Kyungsoo sighed as he nodded. What Baekhyun thought was interesting was that he didn’t seem ashamed of it - just ashamed of being found out. He would have wondered the depth of Kyungsoo’s relationship with Jongdae, but there were more pressing matters at hand.

“What does this have to do with me?” Baekhyun asked, tentative. He really didn’t see a correlation between gang secrets and him when he had left years ago.

“The thing is I wasn’t caught by everyone, just Minseok,” Kyungsoo continued and Baekhyun laughed. The correlation was clear now; being at Minseok’s mercy meant he wanted something.

And if he recalled, Minseok had been the most angry when Baekhyun had left; Baekhyun’s shock the night of the terrible ambush had led to his brother ending up one of the slaughtered as well.

“So he wants me in exchange for secrecy?” Baekhyun asked. He was certain he was right but bile was starting to rise in his throat - he had sworn he would never return, not when he disagreed with everything they stood for. And definitely not when _he_ wasn’t there to make it bearable.

“Well he did. I knew your location when you escaped and he was aware I was tracking you. He was waiting for an opening and I handed it over to him on a silver platter,” Kyungsoo smiled, a glint in his eye that better revealed him as the gang leader Baekhyun knew him to be. A shiver went down Baekhyun’s back when he heard the words. He may have thought he escaped, but Kyungsoo has kept watch over him, making sure he could access him when he wanted. It was a smart move seeing as Baekhyun had been a valuable member and would come in handy eventually, but Baekhyun hated it more than anything. He would never truly disappear, would he?

The leader leaned forward, clasping his hands together on the table as he stared Baekhyun in the eye.

“You know how Minseok loves money. I managed to convince him that one final grand heist from you and a big sum for him could rid you of your debt to him,” Kyungsoo said, finished explaining the plan. Baekhyun couldn’t deny that he was relieved he didn’t have to return to Paris and get dragged back in, but stealing again? He had always had a talent for it, but that didn’t mean he had enjoyed the act of it. A heist in America could reveal a past he’d wanted to erase and destroy a future he had worked for.

“What’s in it for me?” Baekhyun said after a while. His heart was reluctant to agree to the act, but he didn’t really want any payment Kyungsoo would give him either. He knew he was already stuck in this final task.

“Why, assurance that I’ll never contact you again,” Kyungsoo stated. Baekhyun’s heart almost leaped. Coming from anyone else’s mouth it was a very questionable statement, but his former leader hadn’t proved dishonest in his payments since Baekhyun grew up under him. Escaping from all this was his one desperate wish.

Kyungsoo smiled at him and there were emotions in it that Baekhyun didn’t know how to unpack. Flying to America just to find Baekhyun and leaving the gang in the hands of Junmyeon, his second, was a large undertaking. There was no question of Junmyeon’s ability to lead but Baekhyun knew Kyungsoo would never leave unless it was completely necessary. Baekhyun wouldn’t have considered Jongdae to be a completely necessary reason, but his former leader seemed to have a history with their rival that no one had been aware of.

When Kyungsoo stood up, he patted Baekhyun on the back before he left, a gesture he hadn’t done since the boy was the Gray Wolves’ heist genius. He couldn’t help feeling like the same conflicted and passionate teenager that he had grown up to be under his Wolf membership as he was left alone at the booth.

He returned to Yixing, who questioned him briefly and continued to talk about something else that he didn’t pay attention to. After their coffee break ended, Baekhyun returned to work and answered all the wandering store customers’ questions, but it was like he was outside of himself, his body simply going through the motions as his mind drifted to the clouds.

He couldn’t believe it again after years, but there were things infinitely more important than his work and online classes at stake. There was now a heist to plan.

♢♢♢

Baekhyun’s sleep schedule certainly didn’t enjoy this turn of events.

Now in between commutes to work, night classes, and any sliver of free time he had, he was researching. Kyungsoo had called his new task “one final grand heist”, and Baekhyun had committed many thieveries in his life, but he knew this one had to be outrageously spectacular. So of course the first place he looked was the news.

If there was one thing Baekhyun was happy he had decided in the past years he had spent in the United States, struggling with English and trying to get on his feet, it was that he had chosen to do so in a big city.

Boston proved itself to be perfect for his task.

A news article on his computer caught his eye within the next few days and he clicked on it, sipping his coffee as he began to skim. He slowed down within seconds however, to really read it through.

_The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston’s world-renowned art museum, is proud to present a new collection of rare European paintings from the most famous Impressionist painters, including Degas, Manet, and Rembrandt, including the crown jewel worth $200 million - one of Vermeer’s only 34 known pieces, “The Concert”. The new collection, estimating around $500 million in all, will be unveiled at the museum’s annual gala and move in for viewing by the public shortly thereafter._

Baekhyun whistled as he read the price. A $200 million painting? Living in Paris he had frequented the Louvre whenever he could escape from the Wolves, but he was certain most of the paintings in that museum weren’t even worth that much. Could he pull it off by himself?

Even if he wasn’t sure of the probability of actually succeeding, this was too much of an opportunity to pass by. Baekhyun could imagine the look of shock on Kyungsoo’s face and the look of greed on Minseok’s. He hated the latter man but he knew that if he managed to come up with this painting, he really wouldn’t ever hear from them again. His heart skipped at the mere thought.

Taking a deep breath, he moved his cursor to the search bar and began typing.

Search results and information flooded before his eyes and he could already feel his brain working, gears moving and calculating inside his head that he hadn’t done for years but felt as natural as breathing. It almost felt scary to him, honestly, at how natural planning a heist, which was _illegal_ , came to him.  
He could see the scenario forming in his head, the details definitely not in place. He knew that his brain could continue coming up with ideas, but from prior experience he also knew that scoping out his scene would make it all much faster.

_The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum will host its annual gala on May 27._

Baekhyun took a glance at his phone. The screen glowed from its place on the coffee table, displaying the date as February 27. 

He had three months.

Baekhyun found weekend tickets for sale on the museum website, clearly shown at the top of his laptop screen. He purchased them without delay and his phone dinged only seconds later with the email containing the tickets to be scanned. He would be at the scene of his crime for the first time in two days.

It didn’t seem real to Baekhyun, but the thought consumed his head as he left the cafe and got into his car. The lines between his past and present worlds seem to be blurred as his mind remained in heist mode even as he walked into the retail shop for work, all sleepiness gone and his wariness heightened.

♢♢♢

The museum was gorgeous beyond what Baekhyun had expected. He found it almost a shame that he had to rob it.

The bored employee scanned his ticket with ease and he walked in, picking up a map. Baekhyun hadn’t been in a museum since he lived in Paris and it felt like he had been transported back; the Louvre had been his one escape, the paintings his one fantasy that he could gaze at and pretend he didn’t have to grow up in a world of crime. Perhaps it was hypocritical of him to enjoy the art when his job required him to steal it from the public eye, but it was his one guilty pleasure. 

He began to walk into the first exhibits and found himself wandering through the rooms. They were each themed, displaying art from around the world and in different collections. They were all beautiful and Baekhyun simply stood to examine them multiple times. 

He walked into an open courtyard and was met with the smell of plants as he entered a garden area. It was as beautiful as the rest of the museum, but Baekhyun had always been more interested in art than nature. He glanced absentmindedly at the different flowers that brightened the background of green grass with their colorful petals, making his way down a winding path through the garden. It was calming and he almost forgot what he was here for.

Almost.

When the path opened up again, it was facing the opposite side of the courtyard, which was much busier than the side he had entered on. There was a crowd gathered at the base of the large tree that shaded the open area, and Baekhyun could hear one man’s voice in the silence that passed through the crowd. He figured it was a museum curator, with the deep and clear voice that was explaining. Baekhyun was about to leave the crowd to their own devices, but he caught the words he said towards the end of his sentence that instantly pulled Baekhyun’s interest.

“... you can see that collection of paintings at any point sometime after May. It’s our newest addition and as museum curator, I can tell you we’re very excited for it.”

Baekhyun stopped in his tracks and turned. He knew that it was just a passing sentence as he paid closer attention to the next statement the curator said, which was something about a plant species found in Asia. That made sense since they were in the courtyard surrounded by gardens, but Baekhyun couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to be seen from the curator’s speech.

He headed to the crowd, maneuvering carefully through the crowd to get a better view. It wasn’t hard to do as people left and came as they pleased, trying to get to more attractions in the museum. He reached the front in no time. When he reached the front of the crowd, he couldn’t deny that he was more than a little surprised.

Baekhyun hadn't seen anyone as handsome and who seemed as naturally born for public speaking as the young man.

The museum curator did not seem to be far off from his own age, which was surprising given his position. He stood in a suit on a small platform that raised him above the heads of most of the crowd, seeing as he was clearly quite tall. He had a charming smile and his voice was deep and passionate as he spoke. The man was keeping his audience engaged as well, but it clearly wasn't difficult to when he had a personality like that. It was easy to listen to him, even if he was talking about the various plant species surrounding them like it was the most fascinating topic in the universe.

Baekhyun had meant to scope out his surroundings but the man’s offhand comment about his involvement in the museum’s inner workings gave him an excuse to stand there longer, listening to him. He hadn’t realized how many of the audience had come and go on their trip through the museum until the man thanked the small audience to claps and stepped off his makeshift podium.

“Do you have a particular interest in plants, sir?” Baekhyun heard and it took him a second to realize that the man who had been speaking passionately about the topic was now looking directly at him and asking him the question. He knew that the curator had caught his eye a few times during the presentation as it was difficult not to when your audience shifted so frequently, but he hadn’t expected him to be forward about it.

Though he probably should have expected it, given that Baekhyun had been standing right in front of him the majority of the time.

“Oh, me? Not particularly,” Baekhyun answered. The man gave him a charming smile and there was a glint in his eye that gave him an unreadable expression. Was the man trying to charm him or was that simply his personality? Either way, Baekhyun was equally good at that confidence game.

“Though I was interested in something you said earlier,” he commented. Now was as good a time as ever, and Baekhyun couldn’t find all the insider information he needed for a successful robbery simply on the internet. He needed insider information.

It had already struck him that the man in front of him may be just the answer he needed.

“You mentioned a new collection of European paintings?” Baekhyun continued. “I’m fascinated in the subject. Who are the artists?”

The curator seemed surprised at Baekhyun’s answer. He had picked up the platform and stood in front of Baekhyun directly now. It was clear now that the man was a good four inches at least taller than him, and Baekhyun couldn’t deny that he was more handsome when he was closer.

“Did you really listen to a whole speech on plants because of a small comment like that?” the man asked. Baekhyun gave him as charming of a smile he could muster.

“Maybe I was interested in more than the speech,” Baekhyun commented. The curator’s eyes sparked as he caught the implication. It might have been reckless of Baekhyun to make such a blatant comment, but the other man had managed to walk right into that one.

“Some of the painters are Degas and Vermeer,” the man explained. Baekhyun had already known that, of course.

“A Vermeer? Well, aren’t you lucky,” Baekhyun commented. He thanked his good memory of the article for that one. It was in the details of his memory that he had been able to successfully maneuver through situations and it seemed now that flirting was one of those times.

He could see that his knowledge was evident to the curator, who looked at him with clear interest. It was only a beat later that the man held out his hand.

“Chanyeol,” he introduced himself. Baekhyun smiled. He was definitely getting somewhere.  
“Baekhyun,” he replied, shaking the other man’s hand. He had a firm handshake, as well put together as the rest of him in that suit.

“Well, Baekhyun, I have work now, but if you have questions,” Chanyeol trailed off, grabbing into the pocket of his suit and pulling out a pen. He didn’t hesitate at reaching for Baekhyun’s arm and holding it in front of him. He turned his hand over and wrote down something on Baekhyun’s arm, clearly a number. It was bold of the man when Baekhyun was holding his phone in the other hand and could’ve typed his number as a contact himself, but Baekhyun’s flirting in the first place had been bold as well.

Chanyeol let the pen click satisfyingly as he swiftly placed it back in his suit pocket. Was everything the man did so professional? He had an air of confidence that perfectly matched his public speaking persona. It was so likeable. 

“I’ll call you then,” Baekhyun responded. Chanyeol nodded as he began to step back. The curator raised his hand to give one goodbye wave before he turned to head back inside the museum. Baekhyun watched as the man walked away, not turning back to look at him.

It certainly hadn’t been the turn of events that Baekhyun had imagined when he came to the museum, but Chanyeol was definitely interesting. Maybe this heist wouldn’t be as painful as he originally thought.

♢♢♢

_“Jongin, no!” Baekhyun screamed, the words ripping from his throat as his heart dropped to his stomach. It didn’t matter._

_He was too late._

_He watched his best friend turn to look at him, saw the fear and the love and the care in his eyes for him. But then he watched them drain of all emotion._

_The bullet had hit true, straight into his heart._

_Jongin collapsed, dead before he hit the ground. The marble floor of the bank was slowly stained with his blood as it formed in a pool around the corpse._

_Baekhyun was frozen for a second. Then he turned and began to retch, tears and vomit mixing as the image of Jongin’s eyes fading of life was burnt in his mind._

_“Baekhyun, pull your shit together! We gotta get out of here!”_

_He could faintly hear Minseok shout at him but his ears were ringing and the sounds around him were drowning out. He couldn’t process the fact that they were in danger, that their rivals were here and intended to kill. He didn’t hear the following gunshots. He didn’t hear his gang members’ bodies as they hit the ground or the screams._

_All he could think of was Jongin._

_How he would never hear his laugh or see his smile or spend the night with him in their own world again._

_Baekhyun’s body suddenly grew very tired. Then everything went black._

♢♢♢

Baekhyun woke up in a cold sweat, tears already pouring down his cheeks as the dreadful dream played through his mind. He could still hear his own words accompanied by the gunshot in his ears.

He looked around wildly before he realized that he was safe in his bed, in his shitty apartment bed in America. The events of his dream hadn’t occurred in years. 

Jongin had been gone for years.

Baekhyun sighed as he looked down at the blanket covering him. He reached up and wiped his tears away, the habit having formed from the constant haunting nightmare that hadn’t ceased. No matter how many times he re-lived it, he always woke up crying.

Baekhyun only processed then that his room was well-lit, light flooding in from the window. He turned and saw that the sun was high in the sky, much higher than it usually was when he woke. Baekhyun rolled over with an urgency to check his phone screen, dreading the truth. He cursed as he realized he had overslept by a lot for work.

He hastily got out of bed and scrambled to his closet, pulling his work clothes on. He only had one uniform left before he had to wash, though he was certain he would end up forgetting that. He looked at his face in the mirror once and groaned at how awful his hair was. He ran his fingers through it but it wasn’t much use. He didn’t have time, so it would have to do.

 _It’s not your fault_ , he tried to convince himself as he ran out of the apartment, though he knew it was only partly the truth. He had indeed stayed up for his online classes, which was his obligation to do, but it seemed that he hadn’t been able to get up in the morning as he usually could. 

He waited on the metro, impatient as he headed into town to his workplace. Baekhyun’s frustrated foot tapping wasn’t going to get him there any faster and he looked at his phone for a distraction.

He was surprised to see a new message already.

[8:43 PM] Chanyeol: This is Baekhyun, right? Do you have time for coffee sometime this week? This is Chanyeol from the museum, by the way.

The text almost made him snort. Baekhyun could hear the professional sounding voice reading out the message, with its proper spelling and punctuation and reminders. It was nothing like Baekhyun would send. He shot back a quick text before shutting his phone off, looking out the train window and listening for the announcement of approaching stops.

[9:28 AM] Baekhyun: are u free tmrw night?

It was an innocent text but for some reason he felt like he shouldn’t have sent it. It was the same guilty feeling he had gotten every time Yixing had urged him to go anywhere outside of work or invite him out with the other man’s friends for a night. Setting up any type of social gathering that wasn’t meaningless sex felt foreign to Baekhyun and he tried to ignore the pang of regret in his heart. 

The dream of Jongin was still fresh in his mind and his body went numb with the pain that he still felt after these years. Baekhyun remembered how he had shamelessly flirted with Chanyeol only the day before, wanting to cringe. What had he been thinking? Was he going to forget Jongin and pretend he was even worthy of simple things like dating when Baekhyun had let him go just like that? Baekhyun wasn’t worthy of any sort of connection with people; what happened to Jongin would haunt him forever.

He felt his phone ding in his hand and looked down at the new text.

[9:32 AM] Chanyeol: Yep! Is 5 alright?

Baekhyun left the screen open on the text, looking out the window again. The landscape passed by, the familiar sight of city buildings he had known all his life helping him calm the dizzy feelings overtaking him. Saying yes didn’t mean anything, even if the way they had spoken the other day had been easier than breathing. Even if he hadn’t clicked with anyone like that since Jongin. He needed to get closer to Chanyeol for information on the heist. None of this would change anything. 

Baekhyun swallowed his uneasy feelings after he typed and sent before he could convince himself out of it any sooner. He didn’t have time to contemplate this anyway, as his stop approached and he got ready to jump out. He was seconds away from getting confronted by his boss and he needed to snap out of it.

[9:33 AM] Baekhyun: see u then

♢♢♢

Baekhyun hadn’t managed to get fired when he finally got to work, but he had gotten an earful from Irene, their store manager.

He only felt more tired than usual as he walked out into the retail store, the pop music adding to the friendly store atmosphere that he usually liked to keep him awake not helping. It only felt like it was adding to his pounding headache as he headed back to the cashier, feeling more than a little sheepish when Yixing smiled at him as kindly as always. Irene hadn’t been discreet when yelling at him to inform him that Yixing had had to work both registers during the part of his shift that he missed, causing a back up in the line multiple times during the morning. 

He was lucky that Irene was nice enough to take pity on him for his work and study situation, a situation she had told him she had also been in just a few years ago. Baekhyun really should think of a way to thank her for sparing him. He couldn’t afford to lose his job, or he really would be done for.

“Rough night?” Yixing asked once Baekhyun had helped him get through the currently backed up line just like Irene had described, the customers dwindling down as he helped them get their items purchased at double the speed Yixing had been able to do by himself.

“At least I don’t have classes tonight,” Baekhyun said. It was the one shining light in his future that he had realized as he rushed into the store. Yixing nodded and Baekhyun caught it from his peripheral vision as he organized money in the machine at his station. 

Baekhyun knew what Yixing was going to offer or ask, but his own promise and cruel reminder in the form of last night’s nightmare was still lingering in his head. 

“I’m going to head to bed when I get home. I wanna try to get at least some sleep this week,” Baekhyun lied. It was sad how easy lying and excuse making was to him.

“Well, you know my place is always free if you ever want to take a break,” Yixing offered. The man was truly too sweet to him to still offer after Baekhyun had rejected him so much in the past year since Baekhyun had earned this job. It was only more proof in his mind that he shouldn’t get much closer to Yixing than he had just by working with him.

Baekhyun didn’t know how long it would take for him to crush that friendship into a million pieces, since that seemed to be all he was capable of.

The end of his shift was approaching faster than he was used to, seeing as he missed two hours of it. Three weekdays out of the week gave Baekhyun only the morning shift, leaving his afternoon and evenings free for the job hunting or classes he was doing. He had been wanting to get a second income, but it seemed job hunting would have to wait until after this last heist.

He’d known about it for less than a week and he already hated it.

He finally was able to clock out and gave Yixing a wave before leaving the store. His work friend had full shifts all the time, so he wasn’t able to go out with Baekhyun today.

The store he worked at was a department store like Macy’s built into one of Boston’s major malls. On Baekhyun’s free time when he could, he enjoyed staying in the coffee shop within the mall or walking through it just to look around. He was too used to people after remaining in big cities his whole life.

That day he decided to wander through a little. It had been a week or so since he had simply done that. His head was still pounding and he was still tired, but having his headphones in and simply observing and dropping through the different stores made him pleased. He didn’t have money to buy anything but he still enjoyed looking at the new clothes and products. Maybe it was a product of Baekhyun’s life as a foster child and upbringing in a gang, but he had a habit of enjoying looking at new and shiny things without actually feeling the desire to take them.

But his favorite spot had to be the bookstore.

It seemed to be a haven compared to the rest of the shopping center, and was considerably quieter than the rest of it despite being one of the larger stores. It was nestled in one end of the store and Baekhyun enjoyed looking at the new titles on the bookshelf. He had always loved the feeling and smell of new books just like he enjoyed the feeling of looking at art. Literature and art were in the same sort of creative area, anyway - something that offered an escape that Baekhyun always seemed to be so desperately searching for.

His favorite little coffee shop was on the second floor, with a darker ambience than the rest of the well-lit store; it also happened to be the same one he had seen Kyungsoo in just a week ago. It was a good thing Baekhyun had brought his bag in his rush to work, a habit he had been trying to get into but hadn’t particularly been strict on. A coffee and a seat next to the window in that little shop that he loved sounded perfect for studying right now.

Baekhyun ordered his usual coffee, nestling into his spot with his laptop as he waited. After his drink had been completed, all he had to do was take a single sip of the cold beverage to feel a productive surge hit him. He could finish some of that homework he had been neglecting for his classes or research more for the heist.

His laptop screen was open in front of him, bright against the dark lighting. Baekhyun looked at the search bar curiously, his mind already far off before he had even typed anything. A curious thought had popped up as he was barely even opening the computer, but it couldn’t hurt to try, right?

Baekhyun hesitated before typing Chanyeol’s name into the search bar, next to the museum name.

The search results had barely pulled up before he sighed. Pictures of Chanyeol had appeared as well, nice photos that were definitely of the same man he had flirted with just the day before. Baekhyun couldn’t help himself as he thought that they didn’t truly do the man justice to how he looked in real life. The actual articles that had come up seemed promising as well, naming him as a young new figure for the museum. 

Baekhyun clicked on the first link before he regretted it.

♢♢♢

Baekhyun got into his car to leave the mall much later than he should have.

He had spent hours in that coffee shop, only leaving their seat empty within a few hours of closing. He had indeed been productive on homework, but he had also spent way too much time planning the heist. It had reached what he liked to call the next step of his process, where all the details required began to hit him and his mind was beginning to churn with scenarios of how it could run.

The first mental run was always the most amateur and error-filled. How was he going to take care of security? Would he be able to hack into the system beforehand? Would he need a helping hand? If so, who could he trust? He didn’t know anyone here. How much of this could Baekhyun pull off himself, anyway? He had mostly gotten by with help from other experienced gang members before, but they had left him much to his devices on the planning; his help only got involved in the actual execution. Baekhyun needed to preferably come up with a plan fool-proof enough to complete on his own. He didn’t really want to go looking into the undercity of another big city, especially one he had started to think of as home since his arrival to America.

It had all only made his headache worse. And Baekhyun had already known himself to be the king of bad decisions, but another one to add to the record books came up when he turned at the wrong light on the way home, changing course. A drink sounded good right now, even if he knew that he would be hangover and more pissed off the next morning.

The bar he pulled up to seemed to be gaining more visitors at that hour, which made sense as the sun had set and the night was beginning. Baekhyun didn’t like to waste his night in one of the usually sketchy establishments in the city, but he was more than ready to down at least a few beers.

What was better than drinking when your mind was running over the possible scenarios of a heist?

Baekhyun had found his seat at the bar and had ordered his first glass when the door opened, revealing a man that he had definitely not expected to appear.

Park Chanyeol walked in, wearing a gray sweater and jeans. He was such a shock out of the put together suit and persona Baekhyun had met with both in person at his work and on the images he may have poured over just hours before. He was trailed by a man just as tall as him, with blond hair styled up and wearing a graphic t-shirt with jeans as well.

Baekhyun almost choked on his beer when he caught sight of him and turned around. Chanyeol wouldn’t recognize him unless he saw his face and he knew his hoodie wasn’t distinguishable in any way. Baekhyun praised the gods above that he had washed out the hair dye from last month that had made it a very obvious red, something that he wouldn’t have been able to hide from.

It took Baekhyun another drink before he got the courage to turn in his seat and watch the other man. Chanyeol seemed to have come to the place for both a meal and drinks and was smiling at the other man in a way that seemed very familiar. There was something about Chanyeol’s smile in this situation, that was clearly so different from his polished, charming museum smile, that made Baekhyun want to watch him more. Chanyeol laughed loudly and had some of the biggest reactions Baekhyun had ever seen. The air of an announcer and entertainer did not leave him, but there was something intimate about his real personality. It was fascinating to Baekhyun.

He hadn’t realized how his gaze had become unsubtle until Chanyeol erupted into laughter once again, turning away from his friend and accidentally meeting Baekhyun’s eyes. He saw the pause before his eyes lit in recognition before Baekhyun cursed under his breath, turning around. He knew it was no use though; Chanyeol had clearly saw him. Baekhyun was painfully aware that he looked like a stalker, but there was no way he could change it now.

It had been a good ten minutes at this point and Baekhyun still didn’t dare to turn around. He looked down at his phone, the empty shot glass in his hand. He knew that driving himself to the bar had probably been a bad idea. He knew he was stuck here for a bit to wait for the drink to wear off. Baekhyun even considered calling a cab to get home, but his car would probably get towed. The longer he thought about it, the longer he realized that this was a bad idea.

Baekhyun sighed and got up to turn around, too busy to think about his current driving situation to remember that he was trying to avoid someone. He realized his mistake too late as he stood up and almost immediately ran into Chanyeol, who was just about to tap on his shoulder. Baekhyun almost jumped back into his seat, hitting his back rather ungracefully against the counter and groaning at the burst of pain.

“Are you alright there?” Chanyeol asked him, a twinge of amusement coming through his otherwise worried tone. Baekhyun waved him off as he stood up straight again, stepping away from the counter.

“Well this definitely isn’t a coffee shop and it isn’t tomorrow either, but here you are,” Chanyeol said and Baekhyun looked up into his face. The man really was handsome, with the same damn charming smile plastered on his face as he watched Baekhyun. This wasn’t the put together way Baekhyun had wanted to appear in front of him, but there he was, buzzed from a drink and exhausted after work.

“Yeah, and I’m stuck here,” Baekhyun responded, not able to keep the tiredness out of his voice. Chanyeol’s smile dropped as he looked at the shorter one, the question in his eyes.

“I drove myself here, like an idiot,” Baekhyun said, moving back to sit on the barstool again. The space between them had grown to a more respectable distance, but to Baekhyun, it still felt like he was suffocating in the close proximity they had had when he almost ran into the other man.

Chanyeol laughed at him loudly.

“Do you need a ride, then?” Chanyeol asked. Baekhyun looked at him, immediately confused. Chanyeol shook his head, the smile still on his face. Baekhyun didn’t know if it was the alcohol in his system, but Chanyeol looked downright pretty with that smile. It had to be illegal for his eyes to shine like that at him.

Chanyeol gestured at his old table that was empty now. Baekhyun saw the friend Chanyeol had brought with him sitting at the booth but Chanyeol’s meal was visible on the table and that’s when Baekhyun saw it; though the burger was completely eaten and fries were left on the tray, the drink looked completely untouched.

“Are you sober?” Baekhyun asked incredulously, turning to meet Chanyeol’s gaze. Chanyeol nodded.

“I’d ordered the drink before I realized I was our driver,” Chanyeol explained before looking past Baekhyun to what could only be his own downed beer.

“That seems to be something you didn’t think about, though,” Chanyeol said cheekily. Baekhyun rolled his eyes. He was unsure whether or not Chanyeol could catch the action in the dim lights but the man laughed anyway.

“So, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol began, moving to stand next to the counter and face Baekhyun. He leaned against the counter and he was closer now, standing over where the other man was sitting. It definitely had to be the alcohol that had Baekhyun admiring how he looked above him.

“My offer still stands. Do you want me to drive you home?” Chanyeol asked. 

Baekhyun shook out of his thoughts, which were on Chanyeol’s exposed arm with his sweater sleeves rolled up. His muscles in just his forearm were very obvious, and even his vein was visible. That had to be the reason that Chanyeol looked unfairly good in a suit. Baekhyun had to try very hard not to imagine what his biceps and chest might look like.

“U-Uh yeah, I guess,” Baekhyun responded. Chanyeol smiled at him and nodded. It was a second later that he turned to go back to his friend but it felt like an eternity to Baekhyun. He thought he could refocus, but Chanyeol’s back view wasn’t helping him when his eyes slid down to the way his legs looked in those jeans, especially his ass-

Where was this lust coming from all of a sudden?

Baekhyun shifted in his seat, fiddling with his fingers. He knew he was a horny drinker, but honestly. Was he a teenager?

“Hey, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol called him over and Baekhyun happily accepted the chance to stand up and walk. He was suddenly extremely restless. 

“This is Kris,” Chanyeol nodded to the other tall man that was his friend. Baekhyun and him exchanged nods, before Kris turned to look at his phone again. He already gave off a cool aura and Baekhyun thought it was better to just ignore the other man.

“I’m going to drop him off first, then you can tell me your address,” Chanyeol explained. Baekhyun nodded again, and followed them as they left the bar. Chanyeol dropped money on the table in cash and Baekhyun immediately raised his eyebrow at the gesture. Was he really just going to leave change there? He couldn’t deny it was a cool move, and something he couldn’t pull off as a broke student working in retail.

The night air was chilly and the street beyond the bar was much more empty than usual. Baekhyun got into the back of a white truck with black leather seats that seemed impeccable, making his own car seem like trash, as Chanyeol and Kris got into the driver’s and passenger’s seats, respectively. Kris didn’t look up from his phone once as Chanyeol got settled and started the car, beginning to pull out of the parking spot. He had only one hand on the wheel, the other one leaning on the car door. When he turned around in his seat to look back as he backed the car up, Baekhyun could see the concentration on his features.

The car was silent except for the radio that played. Kris and Chanyeol began to mutter things back and forth but Baekhyun wasn’t picking up on it, looking outside the window. He had caught sight of the little digital clock and cursed internally at the late time. He was only going to regret it more when he woke up.

The drive was not very far, thankfully and Baekhyun looked away from his view of the dark streets to watch Kris step out and duck into an apartment building. Baekhyun could tell even from his spot inside a car and in the darkness that it was a much nicer complex than his own. It occurred to him that he didn’t even know how much Chanyeol made. It would make sense for him to make friends with people of a similar class as him, so he would probably be living in the same kind of area as Kris. Baekhyun didn’t know Chanyeol’s salary, but it had to be much higher than himself.

“Come up to the front, it feels weird if you’re in the back,” Chanyeol said. God, his voice was deep and Baekhyun really hated how the alcohol in his system was making him much more easily fazed by the man. He obeyed, getting out of the car and walking around it quickly, sitting next to Chanyeol in the passenger seat.

From here, it wasn’t any better. Baekhyun couldn’t hide it as he looked down Chanyeol again. He had a nice side profile but for some reason Baekhyun’s eyes went down, wondering again about how he looked under that damn sweater and seeing how nice his thighs looked in his jeans. He didn’t notice it until he pulled his eyes up again that Chanyeol had been watching him the whole time.

 _Shit_ , Baekhyun thought. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to pull off the very obvious fact that he had looked him up and down nonchalantly. _Of course he can’t drive yet, idiot, he doesn’t know your address._

“You know,” Chanyeol began, clearing his throat. It sounded deathly quiet in the car other than his voice through Baekhyun’s embarrassment. 

“We could go to my apartment for a bit. I know you have to pick up your car or they’ll tow it.”

Baekhyun gulped. Well, didn’t that give him ideas. He had focused his stare straight ahead to avoid looking at Chanyeol in his embarrassment, but he chanced a quick glance at him to nod shortly. It was a better idea, anyway. That way Baekhyun could wait in the safety of the home of someone he knew instead of a bar when he was exhausted and just go pick up his car when it was safe.

The drive was silent again except for the radio, but it felt different than it had with Kris in the car. Baekhyun didn’t know if it was because he was in the seat directly next to Chanyeol or if it was his tipsy mind, but there was a different kind of tension that felt so thick he could cut it with a knife. Baekhyun just crossed his legs and cleared his throat, looking out the window again.

They pulled up to another apartment building just minutes away from Kris’s where Chanyeol pulled in and parked. He turned the car off and the small buzz of the engine accompanying the radio both stopped, suddenly leaving it completely silent and making the tension heavier between the two even though Baekhyun hadn’t thought it possible.

Chanyeol opened the car door a beat too late and began to step out, waking Baekhyun up from his daze to do the same hastily. He waited for Chanyeol to walk around the car, the usual out of place feeling he always got somewhere unfamiliar beginning to settle in. Chanyeol gave him a small smile as he came into view, walking up to Baekhyun and offering his hand to the other man. Baekhyun tried to ignore the way his hand was sweating as he took it, letting Chanyeol lead him to his apartment. 

It was on the top floor of the building and Chanyeol had let go to use his key to unlock the door but the ghost of his hand in Baekhyun’s was still simmering under his skin. Baekhyun clenched and unclenched his fist multiple times trying to get rid of the annoying buzz that ran through him. Really, what had he thought he was going to gain from drinking?

Chanyeol unlocked the door to his apartment and opened it, holding it open so Baekhyun could duck in first. A rather put together living room was revealed at the end of the small doorway, with a kitchen tucked in the far corner. There was a door besides the television on the opposite side of the living room that Baekhyun assumed was the bedroom, and directly on his left was a pair of French doors that were closed but led to an organized office that was visible through the glass.

It was an organized apartment and much nicer than Baekhyun’s own, but really from what he had known of Chanyeol and his workplace, he shouldn’t have expected anything less. It seemed that Chanyeol was perfect from the pressed suit he wore to work and the charming smile plastered on his face to his spotless car and apartment.

It was rather infuriating to Baekhyun. He was not only irresistibly handsome, but also seemingly perfect? It was so far from his own life that he immediately felt more out of place there.

“Would you like something to eat while you’re here?” Chanyeol asked. Baekhyun hadn’t thought about food in a long time as it had been hours past dinner, but the late time had been enough to make him hungry enough. He was about to refuse Chanyeol out of courtesy, but his stomach rumbled before he could even open his mouth.

Chanyeol laughed and squeezed past him in the small doorway, their bodies having to brush together as he moved across the room into his kitchen. Chanyeol turned around to beckon Baekhyun forward, who felt like the side of his body where Chanyeol had touched him was still buzzing. 

Baekhyun stood in the small kitchen, which was really more of a counter separating a separate tiled floor with appliances and a sink pressed against the wall. It didn’t help Baekhyun keep a decent distance between the two as Chanyeol opened a door and looked into what was clearly a pantry. He bent down to reach for something on one of the bottom shelves and Baekhyun watched as his jeans stretched over his backside and his sweater rode up to reveal his skin, and nope, Baekhyun was going to turn away.

Except he didn’t and was caught a second time staring at Chanyeol when he stood up, a box of crackers in his hand. Baekhyun hadn’t realized he was even biting his lip until he gasped in shock at being caught again. He felt the heat spread to his cheeks but this time, he really couldn’t deny it.

Chanyeol stood for a second before he closed the pantry door, stepping closer to Baekhyun. Baekhyun didn’t expect it when he stopped only inches away from him and set the box of crackers down on the counter next to him. He placed his hands on the counter on either side of Baekhyun, effectively trapping him as he leaned forward. Baekhyun felt like his breath was being stolen as the man was so impossibly close. If he was just inches closer, he could kiss those lips…

“Has anybody told you you’re absolutely beautiful?” Chanyeol whispered, and it was his turn now to look down Baekhyun’s body. His voice was deep and dangerous and Baekhyun felt that tension again as Chanyeol seemed to drink him up with his eyes. 

“You kept looking at me like that in the car and I couldn’t handle it,” Chanyeol continued. Baekhyun had been looking down at his sweater but he felt a finger under his chin, pushing his face up so they met eyes. There was something dark that had come to the forefront in Chanyeol’s eyes and Baekhyun whimpered, feeling like putty in this position where he was so clearly Chanyeol’s.

Baekhyun might have had a plan with the coffee tomorrow, but with Chanyeol looking at him like this, he couldn’t think that this was a thousand times better.

He lifted his hand and wrapped it behind Chanyeol’s neck, grabbing the base of his head and pulling him close. Baekhyun didn’t hesitate to close his eyes before their lips met, crashing together. Chanyeol literally _growled_ into the kiss, making Baekhyun let out a moan as the man grabbed Baekhyun’s waist. His hands were large and Baekhyun wanted to melt into them.

Chanyeol kissed him well enough to set off fireworks in Baekhyun’s brain, wanting to pull him closer until he didn’t know which part of him began and which part ended. Chanyeol picked him up and sat him on the counter, making him just slightly taller than Chanyeol. Baekhyun gasped into the kiss as he spread his legs on either side of Chanyeol so the man could press closer against his body. 

Chanyeol rubbed his hands along Baekhyun’s body, and Baekhyun couldn’t get enough of him. Their tongues were in each other’s mouths, the kiss getting wet and sloppier as they got more desperate. Baekhyun couldn’t think of anything other than Chanyeol, who was pulling him in for more, kissing him like a drowning man who had found oxygen.

They pulled away to breathe and Chanyeol began kissing down his skin as Baekhyun gasped for air. He couldn’t do anything but hold on to Chanyeol, his fist grabbing and pulling the man’s curly hair from where his hand had traveled to Chanyeol’s head. Chanyeol left harsh kisses from the edge of Baekhyun’s lips to his chin to his neck and down towards his collarbone from where it was exposed by his shirt, making him feel like the skin was on fire as he passed it.

“Beautiful,” Chanyeol mumbled against his neck, his shirt not letting him kiss any farther as he sucked harder on the one spot. Baekhyun smiled at the compliment as he leaned more into Chanyeol. He knew it was going to leave a mark later but Baekhyun couldn’t care less with how good Chanyeol was making it feel.

Chanyeol’s hand slid from his back to his hip down to his thigh as he continued to kiss him. Baekhyun moaned loudly as Chanyeol suddenly palmed his dick, hard in his jeans. He only did it once but Baekhyun grinded his hips forward, desperate for more of the blissful friction and whining when he didn’t meet his hand again.

“Fuck, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol moaned against his skin, his voice impossibly sexy breathless. Baekhyun pulled his head by his hair, forcing the man to look into his face.

“Please,” Baekhyun begged, a pathetic sound falling from his lips, and he watched as Chanyeol’s eyes grew dark.

He let out a surprised yelp as Chanyeol immediately wrapped his arms around the smaller boy’s body, pulling his legs so they held around his waist. Baekhyun held onto him as the man carried him effortlessly, turning the knob of the door Baekhyun had assumed was the bedroom and kicking it open, carrying him inside.

Chanyeol literally threw Baekhyun onto the mattress, where he landed on his back and took a second as the air was knocked out of him. He didn’t even get to dwell over the fact that the other man had been strong enough to literally carry him and throw him like he was just a doll before Chanyeol pulled his sweater over his head and dropped it on the floor.

Chanyeol was just as beautiful as Baekhyun had imagined, his chest and stomach muscular and his biceps looking every bit as powerful as he imagined. Baekhyun literally moaned at the sight and leaned up, about to pull him down when Chanyeol climbed over his body to kiss him more.

It wasn’t long before Chanyeol had pulled Baekhyun’s shirt off too and was continuing attacking Baekhyun’s body with his lips as Baekhyun just tangled his hands in his hair and ran them over the smooth warm skin of his back, feeling the muscles work under his touch. Chanyeol was close to his waist now, kissing right above the waistline of his jeans and Baekhyun really couldn’t stand it.

“O-Off, please,” Baekhyun stuttered. He was so turned on he couldn’t stand it, the low buzz that had accompanied him on the ride home a whole fire scorching under his skin. He needed Chanyeol more than anything.

Chanyeol obliged quickly, unbuttoning and pulling his jeans and underwear down quickly and throwing them as if they offended him. Baekhyun giggled breathlessly before he sat up, pushing Chanyeol up as well. He pushed their lips together again, kissing him harshly as he leaned against him completely naked. They continued kissing as Baekhyun’s hands moved down to undo Chanyeol’s own jeans and begin to push them down his legs as well. They broke apart only so Chanyeol could completely unclothe, the two boys naked.

Baekhyun gulped as he saw Chanyeol’s dick for the first time, hard and obviously big. The need for it to be in Baekhyun was stronger than ever as he scooted forward and wrapped his hand around it. Chanyeol moaned, his voice breaking as Baekhyun ran his thumb over the tip. 

Baekhyun looked up to meet Chanyeol’s blissed out gaze as he began moving his hand, jerking him off as Chanyeol leaned back and propped himself on his hands, throwing his head back in pleasure. But Baekhyun stopped as soon as Chanyeol was getting into it, making him whine as he pulled his hand away.

“P-Please, I need you,” Baekhyun began to beg, leaning forward and looking at Chanyeol’s cock hungrily.

“Lay down,” Chanyeol ordered as he stood up, walking to the nightstand. Baekhyun’s eyes widened as he realized what he was reaching for and obeyed quickly, on his back and looking up at the ceiling, almost dying with anticipation.

Baekhyun felt the bed sink as Chanyeol leaned on it again and looked up to watch him look down at something in his hands. Baekhyun bit his lip as he heard the cap open, knowing what was coming. Chanyeol met his gaze and smiled.

“Relax,” he said and Baekhyun let his head hit the back of the mattress as he waited.

He hissed at the feeling of Chanyeol’s fingers, cold and covered in lube, begin to spread his cheeks and finger his hole. Baekhyun tried to stay still but Chanyeol was teasing him, continuing to move slower without ever actually penetrating him.

“God damn it, w-would you hurry up,” Baekhyun finally stuttered out, the embarrassing way he only did when he was beyond turned on.

He wasn’t ready as Chanyeol finally dipped a finger inside, arching his back as the pain began to hit him. It had been at least a few months since he had last had sex, which hadn’t made it any better as Chanyeol slowly pushed his finger all the way in.

It didn’t take long however, before the pain faded, replaced by a burning pleasure that made Baekhyun’s whimpers fall out more by the second. Chanyeol was fingering him so well that it was all Baekhyun could do to just lie there and grip the sheets under him, completely at his mercy.

“S-Stop, I n-need you,” Baekhyun begged after he had got to three fingers and was working him open just right. Baekhyun almost didn’t get the words out before Chanyeol opened his fingers, scissoring inside of him and making him let out a new string of moans and beg incoherently.

Baekhyun whined as Chanyeol pulled his fingers out but listened in anticipation as the condom package ripped open, knowing what was coming next.

He sat up, his legs feeling like jelly but determined at what he was going to do. He almost gave out again at just the _sight_ of Chanyeol’s cock, fully hard with precome leaking, as he realized how turned on the man had gotten from watching him, but he continued. Chanyeol looked at him questioningly, the desperation just as clear on his face as Baekhyun felt.

“I-I want to ride you,” Baekhyun said and he saw Chanyeol’s expression change instantly. Chanyeol nodded and Baekhyun smiled as the other man shifted, taking Baekhyun’s spot in the bed and laying back, cock perfect for Baekhyun.

Baekhyun got onto his knees, so hungry for Chanyeol as he scooted closer, centering himself over his cock.

“Fuck, do you have any idea how hot you are?” Chanyeol asked from under him. Baekhyun looked down to see Chanyeol staring at him in anticipation, looking him over. Baekhyun smiled, happy with the control he now had on the other man. 

He shifted and gasped as he felt the tip line up with his hole. Baekhyun began to sink down on his cock, a whine leaving his lips as he moved slowly. The pain was almost splitting him in half as he let Chanyeol’s cock fill him up and he froze, breathing shakily as he tried to adjust. He watched Chanyeol reach his hand behind his head to grab the pillow, obviously trying hard not to move.

It seemed like an agonizing wait as Baekhyun finally sank down, fully seated on Chanyeol’s cock and gasping through the pain. Chanyeol has his eyes squeezed shut, breathing shallowly too and Baekhyun leaned forward a little, trying to adjust to the size. 

“God, please, can you move-“ Chanyeol finally cracked after another moment of Baekhyun staying still on top of him and began to beg, but Baekhyun beat him to it as he lifted and sank down on his cock a single slow time. 

The pain was definitely still there but something else was as well as Chanyeol’s cock filled him up so good as he moved. Chanyeol has reached up to grab his hips as Baekhyun moved more, slowly but increasing in speed as the pain began to settle and disappear.

Moans and curses began to fall off of his lips as he moved, bouncing on Chanyeol’s dick, loving the way it felt. Something was building in the pit of his stomach and Baekhyun shifted as he moved, trying to find the spot that he knew would have him chasing the feeling.

“Baekhyun, hold on to me,” Chanyeol asked breathlessly as his only warning before he grabbed Baekhyun’s shoulders and flipped them over smoothly. Chanyeol positioned himself and began to thrust hard and deep into him.

Baekhyun cursed, grabbing hopelessly for Chanyeol and wrapping his arms around him. Chanyeol’s next thrust was particularly good, hitting him in the prostate and Baekhyun saw stars as he sank his nails into Chanyeol’s back, shouting from the pleasure.

Chanyeol’s pace sped up, hitting Baekhyun in the same spot over and over so it was all he could do to just hang on. It wasn’t much longer before the desire building up in him finally burst and he moaned, coming all over Chanyeol’s chest from his untouched dick in between them. He felt his body turn into mush as Chanyeol sped up and thrust into him harder, chasing his own orgasm.

Chanyeol’s unforgiving pace finally stuttered and his arms gave out as he came inside Baekhyun, his dick pulsing inside of his ass and making Baekhyun moan through the sensitivity, wincing from the overstimulation after coming down from his own high.

Neither man moved, the bedroom silent other than their heavy breathing. Baekhyun grimaced as Chanyeol got off of him, come sticking to both of their sweaty bodies. He hated the feeling but he was also still too worn out to stand up.

Chanyeol got off of the bed and Baekhyun heard the used condom drop into a trashcan from inside the bathroom but he closed his eyes, too fucked out to do much else. He hadn’t ever had such a satisfying orgasm and his entire body was too tired to move. Though he really knew he had to clean up, he couldn’t help it.

Just seconds after he closed his eyes, Baekhyun fell asleep easily.

♢♢♢

_“How the hell do you even know what that means?” Baekhyun asked from his spot on top of one of their bunk beds, seated in a crouch as he ate his sandwich._

_Jongin just scoffed at him from his seat in front of the desk. The computer had multiple tabs open, each one black with green text, spelling out random sequences to Baekhyun. It seemed to make sense to his friend though as he kept his fingers moving at the keyboard and mouse, seeming to never stop._

_“You know you shouldn’t be so ignorant about this stuff,” Jongin said in the offhanded voice that he got whenever he was focused, like he was only halfway paying attention to the conversation._

_“I mean, why would I care when you love me enough to do it for me?” Baekhyun said, a smirk playing on his lips. Jongin paused, swiveling his chair to look at him. Baekhyun just raised his eyebrows cockily, finishing the last bite of his sandwich and flicking the crumbs off his hands._

_“You know I might not always be here, right?” Jongin said as he turned the chair back to face the computer. He wasn’t looking at Baekhyun anymore so his expression wasn’t visible, but he hadn’t touched the keyboard or mouse again yet._

_The words gave Baekhyun pause. He might have just meant it in the way that he might be out for a mission and not be present if Baekhyun had to do it, but the words had rubbed Baekhyun the wrong way. Hadn’t he and Jongin already agreed that they would stick together no matter what? What gave him thoughts like that? Baekhyun jumped off the bed, walking towards Jongin and grabbing the back of his chair._

_“You know you’ll always have me, right?” Baekhyun said, his tone quieter than the joking he normally had. Jongin’s words had gone through his mind too much to make him serious and Jongin seemed to sense that, turning around in the chair again. Baekhyun’s hands slipped off the chair and fell to his side as he looked down at his friend._

_“I know,” Jongin whispered. There wasn’t any reason for Jongin to whisper but it felt appropriate. Everyone in the Wolves knew they were best friends, but it still felt illegal to say things like that. What even were words like always or forever when you worked in a gang, with danger around every corner?_

_Baekhyun knew he was gullible to think it, but the friendship they had felt worthy of words like always and forever._

_There was a moment where they just searched for something else in each other’s eyes to no avail. Jongin turned back around again to face the computer, clearing his throat._

_“Show me something,” Baekhyun said. Jongin laughed. The moment they had just had was broken and the jokes of their everyday life were surrounding them again in their usual atmosphere._

_“Like I’d let you touch the nice computer,” Jongin joked. Baekhyun snorted at the thought._

_Kyungsoo would’ve never agreed to save up for the computer, but Jongin had managed to turn off the cameras in their last robbery remarkably fast. Frankly, if Baekhyun was him, he would’ve chalked it up to luck, but he seemed to see something in Jongin’s skills to budget off their earnings to pay for the fancy machine. It had been worth it though, as Jongin’s brain seemed to intake the computer skills easily. He had quickly become the Wolves’ host for those feats, the mastermind behind the technology of their missions. And he was only around Baekhyun’s age too._

_How fitting for the Wolves’ king of thievery and king of hacking to have become friends when they were both somewhat of young geniuses._

_“Well here, Baek, watch,” Jongin began and Baekhyun’s eyes went to the screen. Jongin moved the mouse and closed all of the cryptic tabs except for one._

_“Here’s an easy one. Just a password decryptor,” Jongin began as Baekhyun leaned it to watch intently._

♢♢♢

Baekhyun slept more deeply than he had in a long time, if his being shook awake counted. He opened his eyes, incredibly confused as he squinted and blinked, trying to take in his surroundings.

It took him much longer than it should have to realize that this wasn’t his bedroom.

He shot awake, sitting up and pulling the covers over him. The blanket rubbed right over his bare chest and Baekhyun realized, cheeks getting red, that he had slept naked. He looked around frantically before he turned and saw Chanyeol, standing there awkwardly in dress pants and a shirt, carrying a blazer in his arms. The man looked sheepish as he stood there looking at Baekhyun, clearly having woken up and put himself together before shaking Baekhyun awake.

Baekhyun remembered then what had happened the night before.

He groaned and laid back down, feeling the soreness in his ass and legs like a dull ache now that he wasn’t worried that he had been kidnapped. Baekhyun ran a hand through his hair, not wanting to emerge from under the covers.

“You kinda passed out yesterday,” Chanyeol said, his voice extremely loud to Baekhyun’s pounding headache that was starting to set in. 

“I cleaned you up and you were still knocked out, so I found your keys in your jeans pocket and went and got your car for you,” Chanyeol explained. Baekhyun opened his eyes wide, remembering that he was only supposed to be here to wait for his car. He was about to protest from his position under the blankets but Chanyeol wasn’t finished.

“It’s like 6am, by the way, sorry about that. But I have work and I woke you up because I don’t know if you do or not and you probably need to get home, so…” Chanyeol trailed off. 

Baekhyun grabbed the covers and pulled them down so his face and torso was uncovered. He turned to Chanyeol, who hadn’t moved. The expression he wore was different from the put-together one Baekhyun had first met as he looked at him with a question in his eyes, seeming to wonder if he had done the right thing. Baekhyun relaxed. He may feel like shit, with a headache thanks to his hangover and his ass sore, but at least he was in good hands.

“Thank you,” Baekhyun said, the words hoarse as they were the first he spoke that morning. He gave him a genuine smile, because Chanyeol hadn’t had to put that much thought into a one-night stand.

Baekhyun began to sit up but the soreness in his backside suddenly screamed at him and he hissed, pushing himself up gingerly. Chanyeol had moved quickly at the noise, and suddenly his hands were on Baekhyun's back, helping him up.

"Gosh, I'm sorry about that," he said, quietly now that they were so much closer. Baekhyun looked up and saw the worry in his expression. The pain settled down and Baekhyun waved him off, to which Chanyeol reluctantly stepped back.

"It's just been a while, that's all," Baekhyun answered. He shifted in the bed, swinging his legs over the side. He just stared at Chanyeol, pulling the covers up over his lap. It took the other man a second to realize and his eyes went wide.

"Oh, your clothes, uh, here," Chanyeol handed him the clothes he had from where they had been folded and sitting on the dresser behind him. Baekhyun thought it was hilarious that the man had folded them, but accepted them with a nod of thanks.

"And your shirt was dirty so I rinsed it and put it in the wash, but you can use one of my shirts if you want?" Chanyeol told him, his voice raising at the end questioningly. Baekhyun registered slowly that that would mean he would have to return, both for his own shirt and to give back Chanyeol's. That was interesting.

"Uh, yeah, that's alright," Baekhyun responded and Chanyeol bent down and opened a drawer, showing t-shirts folded perfectly stacked inside. Baekhyun was shocked. How much more organized could he get?

He picked out one from the top and tossed it to Baekhyun. It was a simple black t-shirt from an event, with writing on the back and a design on the front, but it was huge. Baekhyun put it on and it seemed to engulf him. He stood up, ignoring the pain in his ass and watched as the shirt dropped down to his mid-thigh, covering him.

"Thanks," Baekhyun said and Chanyeol nodded.

Compared to the electrifying sort of tension that Baekhyun remembered from the night before, there was a new blanket of awkwardness filling the room as they looked at each other. Baekhyun was about to clear his throat or say something when Chanyeol just gave him one last nod, turning to walk out of the room and closing the door behind him.

Baekhyun sighed, running his hands through his hair again as he sat there. The window was open on the opposite side of the room, proving how early in the morning it was since the sky outside was still dark. Baekhyun wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep.

He stood up and changed, trying not to hiss at the pain in his ass. Nothing would be more embarrassing than limping around the store today, even if he knew that Yixing would probably never suspect the actual reason behind his soreness. Baekhyun would know and that would be enough to be humiliated.

Baekhyun was fully dressed at this point. The door to the bathroom was cracked open, the lights looking especially bright as they were on, unlike the warmer bedroom lights. Baekhyun took a few steps towards them before he had to grab the dresser for support from the pain, his knuckles turning white with the harsh grip he had and his face twisting in pain. He took a second before he limped in, shuffling as he cursed internally. He’d forgotten how much it hurt. 

His reflection didn’t look too good. His hair was a mess, completely disheveled from both the sex and sleeping. Baekhyun reached up to smooth it out, but it wasn’t much use. The shirt really was miles too long on him, making him look much smaller. Even if it was way too big, the neckline still dipped enough to reveal a bright red hickey on his collarbone. Baekhyun flushed from embarrassment even if no one was around, pulling the shirt’s neckline over to cover it. It wouldn’t stay there however, and Baekhyun sighed. He remembered what had happened enough to grow curious about the state of the rest of him and lifted up the shirt to reveal his torso.

Baekhyun was shocked as to how Chanyeol hadn’t said anything earlier when he had been sitting on the edge of the bed without a shirt like this. Baekhyun’s torso was completely marked, the hickeys covering him. Baekhyun grazed a few of them with his fingers, the touch still managing to give him a twinge of pain in a couple of the harsher ones. He couldn’t deny that it was hot, knowing that Chanyeol had completely claimed him like this. He’d really ruined Baekhyun the night before.

Baekhyun dropped the shirt and was met again with the reflection in the mirror. He didn’t know why but he felt transfixed by the image. It wasn’t that he looked good - far from it, actually. It felt like his skin was burning in the spots Chanyeol had marked him, as he was now painfully aware of how he looked under Chanyeol’s shirt. Not to mention that he was also, again, _wearing Chanyeol’s shirt_. He had just remembered the words Chanyeol had whispered against his skin multiple times as he made those marks, like a secret in the night: _beautiful_.

There was nothing Baekhyun could see in his reflection now that looked beautiful.

He knew where this train of thought was going, had followed it too many times after he escaped from Paris. But his own mind was unforgiving, flashing with images of his past crimes and the horrific memories he had. Shooting people. People shooting at _him_. So much death, so many lives taken. Petty rivalries and risky endeavors all for money.

How he had made a promise to protect Jongin and hadn’t even been good enough to keep that.

Baekhyun felt his blood boil under his skin, and suddenly he felt disgusting. He wanted to rip the shirt off, knew he wasn’t worthy of being called beautiful by handsome men or warming their beds. He looked at his reflection again and saw red.

Baekhyun didn’t realize he had started to spiral until his vision blurred, the pressure of tears building up behind his eyes. He stopped and rubbed at them furiously. He wasn’t going to look any more pathetic, especially not in a house that wasn’t his own. He ran his hands through his hair once more and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and trying to push the thoughts away.

Baekhyun pushed the bedroom door open after leaving the bathroom a few moments later, revealing the same spotless apartment from last night. He was determined not to limp in front of Chanyeol, and even did a few practice laps around the bedroom to get the hang of it, but he didn’t seem to be in the apartment at all.

That seemed better for him anyway and he crossed the apartment, meaning to slip out before Chanyeol returned if he had just left to get mail or something. Baekhyun spotted his shoes by the door and bent down, picking them up. There was a little bench that he was about to sit on to put them on when he noticed the slip of paper that had been left, prominent against the otherwise spotless bench.

_Are we still on for coffee?_

Baekhyun actually laughed out loud at the short message. It was endearing to think the man had left a note like this instead of simply texting him later in the day. He picked up the pen and scribbled a short response, before finally slipping his shoes on. He opened the apartment door and slipped out, shutting it behind him and running out to his car that sat right in the closest parking spot, just like Chanyeol had told him it would be.

_of course!!_

♢♢♢

He needed to figure out the security in the museum.

That was what was running through Baekhyun’s head as he pulled up to the cafe, a nice location close to the museum that Baekhyun had gone to once his shift at work had finished. It wasn’t as quaint as the bookstore coffee shop he frequented so often, but it was nice enough that he could imagine Chanyeol running here before work every morning to pick up his own coffee. Technically Baekhyun was supposed to get off his own job an hour before Chanyeol, but he had had to help a customer for longer and close up the shop. That was why he showed up at the little cafe only 20 minutes prior to when Chanyeol would be done in his own office.

That was still plenty of time for Baekhyun to get to work on his little side project, however.

He had spent years in the Wolves in Paris; sneaking past security wouldn’t be a problem. It had never been an issue, but this was the first time he didn’t have people double-checking him, working in a team. Baekhyun should just be grateful that he had managed to learn how to hack through computer systems or he would be dust. 

Baekhyun swallowed back the lump in his throat. Jongin had been the one to teach him how to get through computers. It should be Jongin here with him.

But Baekhyun couldn’t change that. Not now or ever.

Baekhyun’s mind was whirring on the project. What kind of security would the new paintings be under? How many bodyguards? How many cameras and where? What he needed was an internal source to the mainframe, but he had never pulled off that kind of job before. Impersonating staff for the museum was hard enough, but he didn’t have the qualifications either and didn’t particularly want to fake those when he was running a one-man operation.

He was startled out of his thoughts when the chair opposite the small coffee table was pulled back, the legs of the chair creating an awful noise as they scraped against the floor. Baekhyun turned from looking out the windows to see Chanyeol sitting in front of him, looking every bit the charming curator that he had been when Baekhyun met him.

“Look, I wanted to apologize for last night,” Chanyeol began and Baekhyun immediately was confused.

“I don’t normally hook up with people I already know. You were drunk yesterday and we had met purely from my work, so if it offended you in any way, you can tell me.”

Chanyeol had been staring down at his fingers, interlocked with each other on the table and twiddling his thumbs, but he looked up at Baekhyun with a sheepish look. Baekhyun had been so blindsided by the apology that he chuckled.

“No, it’s alright, I enjoyed it,” Baekhyun said, a smile on his face. Chanyeol licked his lips, not meeting his eyes. 

“I wouldn’t mind doing it again either,” Baekhyun added, sipping his coffee as he watched Chanyeol’s expression change. He was clearly surprised, but there was something darker in his eyes as well from the comment.

“Well, uh,” Chanyeol stuttered, clearly flustered. 

“You said you were interested in the European collection when I met you,” he finished, the moment of flirting having passed. Baekhyun set his coffee down. 

“Yes, did you say you had a Vermeer painting?” Baekhyun began. 

This was what he was good at. Baekhyun had researched specifically, so he knew about the collection and read enough background information on the artists to write a research paper. He had to thank his good memory for this, but he couldn’t deny that the stuff he read was interesting. Reading about art took him to the days him and Jongin would sneak to the Louvre for one of their “art trips”. It had taken two years of those trips for him to learn how to draw as well, sitting in the museum with Jongin and sketching the paintings being his favorite pastime. That setting in the Louvre made up most of Baekhyun’s fond memories in Paris.

“We do. That one’s called _The Concert_ ,” Chanyeol said, a proud smile on his face. 

His entire body language had changed - before he had been sheepish when speaking to Baekhyun directly about the past night, his head lower and hands in front of him like a silent defense. But barely speaking about the new collection had already opened him up; he had sat up straighter, leaning back in his chair, and with a new kind of fire in his eyes. Baekhyun could see that the man was passionate for his job, or at least the art that came with it.

“I haven’t heard of that one. Is it newly recovered?” Baekhyun asked. 

“It’s been traded between art collectors for over 40 years now, but it wasn’t identified as a Vermeer until the last man who owned it granted it to us,” Chanyeol explained.

“Do you like Vermeer in particular?” He asked after, smiling. 

Baekhyun didn’t know if it was because the man was so handsome, but his smile seemed so inviting and the conversation had begun to flow with the same ease that it had in the museum that Baekhyun spoke his next words, something that he usually would have considered too risky. 

“I used to live in Paris and would frequent the Louvre,” Baekhyun began. He could already see Chanyeol’s eyes light up with interest. Baekhyun always thought Americans’ belief that Paris was amazing was quite wrong, but then again his upbringing in the city had tainted his own associations with the city.

“I remember I was about 15 when they had an exhibition on Vermeer. It was months long as all exhibitions are, but I clearly remember sitting in the gallery the first few days it had opened. It had been extremely crowded, but I remember just staring at the paintings in awe,” Baekhyun reminisced. He had looked away from Chanyeol, staring out the window as the memories came to the forefront of his mind and pulled him away from the present.

“There’s something about how simple they are. They’re quite domestic paintings, but they look so real. They have such a familiarity to them,” Baekhyun said quietly. He hadn’t realized his own feelings towards the artist until he spoke. He remembered looking at the people depicted in the paintings, seeing how they shared moments of companionship that Baekhyun had so lacked in his own childhood.

“I ended up going whenever I could for the next two months,” Baekhyun turned to look at Chanyeol with a smile. The other man was watching him with an intensity that felt like it was burning Baekhyun alive. Baekhyun looked down at the table that separated them.

“I had a sketchbook that I had been gifted and would sit for hours in the museum. I sketched all my favorite paintings, but I remember sketching every single one of the Vermeers.”

Baekhyun had brought that sketchbook with him to America; it was one of the only things he had wanted to keep from Paris. He hadn’t sketched in so long though that it was probably hidden away in a drawer or maybe under his bed. The pages contained sketches but to Baekhyun they were from a time that had Jongin in it, and that was too painful to resurface.

Baekhyun had been too lost in thought to notice the pause in the conversation, still observing the people passing by the coffee shop’s window and too oblivious to notice the thoughtful way Chanyeol was looking at him.

“I hope I can see you sketching our Vermeer one day,” Chanyeol broke the silence, his voice still with the same thoughtful quality. Baekhyun turned to look at him and they both broke into smiles.

“I haven’t sketched in years,” Baekhyun admitted. Chanyeol looked upset at the revelation and Baekhyun looked down at his now-empty coffee cup in front of him.

“There are things in Paris I want to leave behind,” Baekhyun said truthfully.

The sound of his voice saying the words was jarring and the alarm bells went off in his head. They had been stuck in his thoughts for years now and he knew that they needed to stay there; if no one ever knew about his past, it would still be too much of a reminder to Baekhyun.

Chanyeol seemed to notice the way Baekhyun was closing off and flicked his wrist to check on his watch, clearing his throat.

“I actually have to meet up with someone else tonight, Baekhyun, I’m really sorry. Actually, I forgot you met him. I’m meeting up with Kris,” Chanyeol said, beginning to ramble with the tension that had built suddenly between them.

Baekhyun was about to dig into his own thoughts, chastising himself from revealing too much. Chanyeol was still just a stranger, anyway, but there was something about him and the way they spoke that made Baekhyun feel like he could drop his guard. It was something he’d only felt before with one other person, and that only made it all the more dangerous.

Baekhyun thought Chanyeol was going to leave him there in his spiral, but he felt a hand on his own that was laying on the coffee table. He looked up and saw the man closer than he had expected, their breaths almost mingling in the air between. 

“Baekhyun, I liked talking to you. Don’t think I didn’t,” Chanyeol told him and Baekhyun felt himself forget that they were in the middle of a coffee shop.

It wasn’t until Chanyeol had pulled away, adjusting his grip on his suit blazer that was draped over his arm and turning towards the door that Baekhyun pulled out his phone. The screen unlocked and revealed his last search - United States museum security. Baekhyun’s thoughts, the sad ones that seemed to whirl around his mind in a hazy cloud, sharpened in an instant at the reminder of the heist he was supposed to be planning.

Baekhyun looked up just as Chanyeol was taking a few steps away. Wasn’t the whole point of meeting up with Chanyeol to get closer to him? Wasn’t the whole point of even watching him in the first place to seek out insider information on the museum if he could? His chance was walking away right in front of him.

“Chanyeol!” Baekhyun called. The curator turned around to face him. If Baekhyun looked closer in the way Chanyeol held his gaze, he might have been able to see that the man had been hoping Baekhyun would say something.

“Yes?” Chanyeol said. It wasn’t until the word fell from his lips that Baekhyun realized he had waited a beat too long.

“Do you want to meet for dinner at some point?” Baekhyun asked, a tight anxiousness strangling his heart. It was eased in a second when Chanyeol’s face lit up in a wide smile and he nodded. Baekhyun broke into his own relieved smile.

Baekhyun knew getting pulled into the intoxicating aura of the man would be the wrong decision, but he still felt empty as Chanyeol walked out the door.

♢♢♢

Baekhyun’s midterm exams were nearing for the spring semester and it was quite an understatement to say that he was stressed.

He had only three classes to fit in along with his work schedule, but he had been too tired constantly to remember much of the material. Kyungsoo hadn’t helped either, appearing out of the blue less than a month ago. He could sense himself on verge of breakdown trying to cram the material for the different curriculums into his head before the exams the following week, but his brain had settled back into contemplating his project instead of holding onto facts. Baekhyun felt like he could study the whole day but right after he reviewed his flashcards, the material left him and disappeared in the wind.

Yixing could sense it at his work and had started bringing him coffee in the morning when Baekhyun stumbled in only minutes before his shift everyday. Baekhyun really did appreciate the other man. He had always been on Baekhyun’s side even if the younger man set up his unbreakable barriers constantly. But Yixing had been there for too long for him not to repay him once.

Hadn’t Baekhyun’s barriers proven to be penetrable anyway, even by men he barely knew? It seemed that Baekhyun hadn’t been as strong as he thought.

“Take me to one of your things one of these days,” Baekhyun blurted out on their shift, as the two of them took armfuls of clothing each off of the racks in the fitting rooms, ready to replace back on their respective racks in the store area.

Yixing looked up at him, surprised. Baekhyun felt guilt settle in his stomach at the expression. He definitely shouldn’t have put something like this off for so long, rejecting every time Yixing tried to invite him somewhere.

“Oh, really?” Yixing asked, his eyes wide. The growing smile on him seemed shocked yet happy and Baekhyun nodded, feeling sheepish at how his small effort had created such a nice reaction.

"Join me and some friends for a movie night, won't you, Baek? You're so tired all the time. I just want to have some fun with you for once," Yixing said, giving him the same look of pity that he always did. Baekhyun couldn't admit that he did want to see Yixing more in his element than he was when he gave him that same pitiful look every time they were together.

Baekhyun nodded before he could regret it. Maybe it was going to distract him from studying even more than he already was, but he knew he owed this much to his work friend. He couldn't hide forever, no matter how much he wanted to.

"Great. I'll text you everything!" Yixing said and Baekhyun gave him another nod.

As Baekhyun got into his car to drive home, he realized something. After this heist, he would probably never be able to talk to Yixing again. His little world he's created in Boston - working in the mall, talking to Yixing, his little apartment, it would all be gone. He had spent the past two years keeping up his walls, but now he was two months away from what had to be the end and his heart still hurt at the realization.

He started the car, the sound of the engine settling into a quiet drone in his ears. If he only had a few more months in the little life he had hidden away in, he was going to use the time he had left as much as he could.

Baekhyun could hardly stay awake in the last few days before his midterms. The nature of Boston at night seemed to become more familiar to him than it did during the day, with how much he stayed up studying and for when he finally took the tests.

He stepped out of the building that he had been assigned for exams and got into his car, not risking lingering outside when it was late in the city. Baekhyun opened his phone to check it, seeing that two hours had passed for his last test. He was praying that by some miracle he would be able to pass them when his phone dinged with a new text.

[1:04 AM] Chanyeol: Sorry this is so late, but do you want to go to dinner this weekend? I can meet you at the museum at the end of my shift on Sunday night if you want!

Baekhyun looked at the text, taking a long time to process it with his tired state, his vision literally blurring in his need for sleep. Once he read the text however, he shot back the confirmation quickly.

His exams were over and he would get the grades back soon, no matter what they were. At least now he had something to look forward to. But even his tired and worn out brain from exams was primed and gave him an idea.

The whole time he drove back, he could practically hear the gears going in his head. Despite not having recuperated from the studying blur these weeks had been, he was more awake than he had felt in a long time.

♢♢♢

Building the scanner took a certain skill that he needed to develop fast in limited time. And a call to Kyungsoo that he hadn't wanted to make.

He still had the number memorized, which was something that had been drilled into all the Wolves' minds. Baekhyun was frankly astonished that the number was in use, his heart pounding in his chest at the idea of reaching out at all. He felt the distinct urge to burn the phone immediately after making the call.

"This is Do's Family Fashion Line, what do you need?" Kyungsoo's voice was loud over the phone, the French words calling out the alias that the main line in their headquarters had. Baekhyun responded with the code word quickly, alerting the gang leader that he was trusted for their actual business.

"It's me," Baekhyun said dumbly before he realized that he probably should have said his name, but he was too caught up in his hate at having to do this to think rather clearly. It didn’t matter though, as Kyungsoo recognized his voice anyway.

"Oh, Baekhyunnie," Kyungsoo said the nickname he had grown up around. It stung to hear again; it had been used as somewhat of a derogatory name by the older gang members who didn't like him because of jealousy at his skill or other reasons, the name sneered when he passed by. There had only been one person to ever say the name with any affection, and it hadn't been Kyungsoo.

"Listen, I need the technology for the glasses scanner," Baekhyun explained in hushed French. He may have been speaking a language foreign to most Boston residents, but he was still paranoid of someone hearing him and pulling him into trouble with the law.

"Hm, I gave you a job to do. I thought you were going to do it to leave me alone, but instead you're calling for our help?" Kyungsoo teased him. Baekhyun wanted to curse. The leader was clearly in a malicious mood, hardened more than he had appeared when he had first reached out to Baekhyun, probably from settling back in and dealing with the business back home.

"Shut up, Kyungsoo, and get Seulgi on the phone, please," Baekhyun begged.

"You know she'd have to know why our traitor is on the phone asking for our technology, don't you? Tell me how should I keep her from letting the words slip," Kyungsoo replied, voice like dark chocolate melting in the way that it always did obnoxiously when he was making deals. Baekhyun could imagine him twirling the same damn pen he always did and wearing the smirk he wore when he knew he had the upper hand.

"Just tell her I'll pay her for her silence along with Minseok. I need to build it here. I'll pay her more to convince her I won't trade it anywhere," Baekhyun begged.

It was a big promise to make with the amounts he knew his gang members were accustomed to with silence. He just hoped the spoils he got from the paintings would be enough to shut them both up. They were probably compensated for so many dirty secrets that they were walking blackmail anyway; he only had to hope that they would forget his own lies quick enough.

Thankfully, it seemed enough for the Parisian underground king and only moments later, Baekhyun recognized the voice of the woman that had been their gadgets creator after she arrived two years after he had. She was only a few years older than Baekhyun but hardened quickly, ending up much more accustomed to Paris's illegal underground network than Baekhyun had ever ended up being.

After yet more begging by Baekhyun and explanation from both sides, the call ended. Baekhyun immediately dropped the phone onto his bed, hating the sight of it. Just the idea that he had talked to the Wolves again was enough to make him shiver in disgust.

But it didn't matter anyway. He had the information now.

After a late night run to hardware stores and buying the materials described, Baekhyun holed himself in his apartment to set to work. He spent hours working, his hands moving rather clumsily at first as he began but improving as the time dragged on. It took computer frustrations as well, to the point that Baekhyun considered calling back before growing nauseous at the thought and deciding he would figure it out on his own.

The sun was fully up at this point and Baekhyun would have to go to work on no sleep but it was done. Baekhyun took off his glasses and looked at his work, a creation that he was silently praying would work. He placed the small glass contraption straight onto his lens and examined it. The centimeter of glass right on top of the glasses blended into the frames perfectly, the contraption only visible on top of them when the light hit it a certain way. He knew it was not as clean as Seulgi could have produced it, but it would have to work.

He placed them on and looked at his computer, taking a breath before he pressed the on button on his screen, connecting the contraption.

It took a good 10 seconds where Baekhyun cursed, heart falling at the realization that his work had been for naught before pushing at it again in a desperate attempt to get it to work. He had almost pushed it again when the contraption whirred quietly to life, the sound barely audible in the silent apartment. Baekhyun sucked a breath in.

He turned to the computer and cheered, not caring that it had to be early morning and his cranky apartment neighbors wouldn't be pleased.

The computer showed the video that Baekhyun saw right in front of him and his cheer echoed back from his laptop seconds later. Baekhyun immediately sat down, looking at the controls on the sides of the display that were familiar from watching Jongin perform this role exactly in jobs for the Wolves. He checked each setting, including the electronic scanner, audio, video, and saving of the footage. Baekhyun even checked a 10 second video footage of his apartment and made sure he could examine it properly, pausing it at every second and zooming in at various spots in the paused frame, scanning a barcode on his hanging jacket and grinning when it worked and saved in a different part of the computer display.

It was a work of genius and Baekhyun knew exactly what he had to do now.

If Chanyeol wanted to meet him at the museum, he would do exactly that. Baekhyun could pull off a casual formal look, perfect for museum-going and a dinner date with one of the staff, complete with the same glasses.

It would be undetectable to anyone that Baekhyun would be recording the entire time.

♢♢♢

_Two security guards in each display room. Five at the entrance._

It was thoughts like that that were stuck in Baekhyun’s head - cliffnotes in his brain and numbers that he needed to remember as he took in every room. 

Baekhyun had arrived at the museum two hours before Chanyeol had asked him to meet for dinner, dressed in a button down and slacks and wearing the glasses. He had walked through the entire museum twice at this point, making a careful point of looking around the entire room lazily. He watched the scanner in the corner of his lens as it focused in on several objects and scanned them, the little percentage bars next to them filling up to 100% quickly as they captured each detail of them. 

At this point he could probably forge many of the paintings in here with the right equipment with these scans, but the Wolves would know better than that. He didn’t doubt that they were going to check to see if Baekhyun’s own spoils from his heist were forgery. Though Baekhyun doubted the event wouldn’t be all over the news after the night of the gala, giving him solid proof when he brought them the stolen paintings.

Baekhyun stood against the wall of the tapestry room, looking around in thought. He had already passed the room twice, wanting to familiarize himself in particular with this area as the news reports had said the gala dinner would be held here. His glasses had already scanned and recorded his surroundings thoroughly in the time he had sat there - there wasn’t that much longer for him to meet Chanyeol and he’d grown tired of the walking. He had contented himself to simply sit in the beautiful room when his phone dinged once again in his pocket.

[4:58 PM] Chanyeol: Hey! I’m really sorry, but I’m in my office right now. Come around the side of the museum and there’s a side entrance right before the gardens that leads to the offices. I can meet you there.

Baekhyun read the text and stood up immediately, pushing his glasses farther up his face. He still needed a way into the security system, but a trip to the museum offices and a separate entrance were still precious bits of information.

Once he made it out of the museum, the trip around the side of the building appeared to be more of a hidden path, not completely cut off from typical guests but much more deserted than the main entrance was. He walked on the small pathway, the trees above shading him from the sun that was just beginning to set. 

The side entrance was a door that was the same color as the museum, blending in quite well. Baekhyun didn’t know what he was supposed to do other than wait in front of it, but that seemed suspicious to him. He didn’t want to appear strange, especially around this museum, before he had to commit to his actual task. He pulled out his phone and scrolled through its apps mindlessly, trying to seem inconspicuous.

The door opened and startled him. Baekhyun hastily turned off his phone and put it into his pocket, looking up to see the door being held open by none other than Chanyeol, giving him an amused smile.

“You scared me,” Baekhyun whined, though he was smiling back.

“Hey, I just need to grab one more thing, but do you want to wait right inside? I can’t pull you into the offices but I don’t want you to just be sitting outside,” said Chanyeol. Baekhyun couldn’t believe his luck at Chanyeol’s small trust in him and just nodded, stepping forward.

Getting inside the staff’s part of the museum at all? Chanyeol was definitely smart for not trusting him inside completely, but there was no way he could know what Baekhyun had up his sleeve. Or on his glasses, to be specific.

Baekhyun stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He was in a hallway with a dark patterned carpet and pristine white walls. On both sides of the hallway there were doors leading into what had to be other offices. Baekhyun felt out of place, knowing that he really shouldn't be there and not hidden by the dark or with a mission. He hoped Chanyeol wasn't going to get him in trouble.

He turned to where Chanyeol was standing, expecting to see only him but was surprised. The friend that Chanyeol had brought to the bar when he had taken Baekhyun home was with him as well. Baekhyun remembered then that his name was Kris. Compared to Chanyeol's still-friendly smile, Kris gave him a cold look. Baekhyun didn't know whether it was because the other man was bored or tired but he still felt uncomfortable under the gaze anyway. It didn't help that the man was just as tall as Chanyeol and was looking down at Baekhyun.

"We met at the bar that day," Kris observed. His voice wasn't as deep as Chanyeol's and it sounded nicer, almost melodic, compared to his stare.

"I'm Baekhyun," Baekhyun introduced himself when Kris held out his hand to shake. Baekhyun could tell Kris had the same aura of professionalism that Chanyeol did, without the charming part.

"I know. Chanyeol here's mentioned you a couple of times," Kris said, smiling. It automatically softened his features and Baekhyun felt himself relax now that he wasn't being so coldly watched.

The two taller men shared a glance that clearly said what Kris said had been meant to be a dig. Chanyeol ignored it as he continued however.

"Kris is the head of security here," Chanyeol said. Baekhyun tried not to let his eyes widen as his heart sped up. Really, how much better could his luck get? Something had to give at this point, didn’t it? Baekhyun was going to be combing just this section of footage from his lenses for every clue he could.

"He's gonna stand here with you for just a second while I finish one last thing in my office. He insisted when he caught me going to let you in, so don't go wandering off, okay Baekhyun?" Chanyeol said, laughing at the last sentence. He turned around then, leaving the two together.

Baekhyun thought he was going to be left in an awkward silence but he was still contemplating things in his head. He knew the man standing next to him could be his way into the security system, if he used his new connection to Chanyeol well enough. Baekhyun was still thinking of how he couldn't waste this chance, pushing his glasses farther up his nose as Kris began to speak.

"So what do you do, Baekhyun?" Kris asked. It was a simple question and Baekhyun watched the scanner in his lens take in the hallway ahead of him, staring ahead as he answered.

Kris hadn't been able to do much other than nod in acknowledgement when Baekhyun explained his situation when a phone began to buzz angrily, coming from the pocket of Kris's suit. He muttered some sort of apology as he reached down, pulling the phone out. The man picked up the phone and answered the call as something fell out of his pocket as well, pulled out by his reach for his phone. Baekhyun waved him off as he bent down, picking up the dropped item.

Baekhyun bent down on the floor, grabbing the item and flipping it over, trying not to gasp. It was his ID for the museum, complete with a barcode along with the usual name, title, and profile picture. Baekhyun's movements stuttered but he recovered quickly, holding up the card as he stood up, making sure to keep it face up and in his view without being suspicious as he handed it back to Kris, who had ended the call and was pushing his phone into his pocket.

"Oh, thank you. That thing falls out all the time. It would've been an issue if I lost it, eh?" Kris said and Baekhyun nodded, watching as the card disappeared back into the fabric of his suit.

Baekhyun had to use all his willpower to conceal his smile as he watched the percentage bar on the scanner reach 100% for the ID just seconds before it was hidden away in Kris’s pocket again.

It was only a moment later that Chanyeol returned, turning into view at the end of the hallway and walking their way. Baekhyun smiled when he saw him meet his eyes, giving Baekhyun a nod. When Chanyeol reached the two of them, he patted Kris's shoulder.

"He didn't try to run away, did he?" Chanyeol asked, a teasing smile on his face. Kris rolled his eyes at him.

"I can't stop him from running away when you do something stupid inevitably," Kris shot back at Chanyeol. The man just scoffed as Kris patted him back before walking down the hallway, turning into an office just down the hall.

Baekhyun made sure to appear lost in thought as the glasses recorded the door that Kris walked in, which had to be none other than his office.

"You good?" Chanyeol asked. Baekhyun pretended to be pulled out of his thoughts, turning to Chanyeol and giving him an innocent smile.

Chanyeol opened the door for him, leading him out while Baekhyun pushed his glasses up again. He was already thinking of the footage he would go over that night.

Now he only had to see if dinner would be just as productive.

♢♢♢

The restaurant was nicer than any Baekhyun had ever been in.

Well, that wasn't exactly true as Baekhyun had joined in a job to break into one of the Parisian restaurants who boasted about their rating of three Michelin stars, but he hadn't dined there so it didn't count. This one was obviously not anywhere near that level of fine dining, but it was still quite a bit more upscale than the coffee shops he frequently camped out in.

"Oh, Chanyeol, I can't pay for this," Baekhyun immediately began to protest as they stepped inside but Chanyeol shushed him, grabbing his hand to lead him to the hostess standing nearby. Baekhyun tried to ignore the way that Chanyeol's hand practically engulfed his own in the gesture, Chanyeol's hands being much bigger.

Chanyeol spoke to her and Baekhyun's pride took another beating when he heard that Chanyeol had set up a reservation for them. The hostess smiled kindly and led them into the dining area. Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol, meaning to express his distaste at being taken somewhere that he can't afford, but the other man was giving him too much of a charming smile for Baekhyun to have the heart to do it.

They were led to a dimly lit table on the edge of the dining room where they sat opposite each other. Baekhyun sat down, staring at the white tablecloth, nice silverware, and not to mention the carefully folded napkin on top of the plate. It all seemed too much for him. He had lived so modestly and lowkey for the past years that he felt almost scared to touch anything.

"What do you do for a living, Baekhyun?" Chanyeol asked once they had got set. The other man had already pulled the napkin aside and began looking at the menus set out between their plates when he realized Baekhyun hadn't moved for it.

"I work in retail and I'm taking online classes on the side. I didn’t really get the greatest education, and I want to get a more proper job," he answered sheepishly, treading along the truth of his almost complete lack of formal education. They had gotten taught basics in the orphanage for him to get by, but he had to finish high school from online classes here. Chanyeol eyed him from the top of his menu.

"There's nothing wrong with retail. If anything, it might be a harder job than what I do. I admire you for working hard," Chanyeol said and Baekhyun looked down. He couldn't tell whether he was just saying something to be nice or if he meant it.

There was a silence as Baekhyun didn't say anything. He couldn't put into words how out of place he felt in a nice restaurant with Chanyeol, who was clearly much better off than he was. The waiter came by, quickly taking their drinks before scurrying off to the next table. Baekhyun was expecting the atmosphere of their dinner to turn sour from the lull in conversation, but Chanyeol seemed to read his mind.

"Hey," he said, soft enough for Baekhyun to look up.

"You obviously left France for a reason. And you're working towards it. So don't worry about money tonight. Just let me treat you," Chanyeol said, a small smile playing at the edge of his lips. The words were perfect; they seemed to wrap Baekhyun in comfort and he relaxed. He hadn't realized Chanyeol would be able to say things that seemed to be perfect in the moment, but he had just proven Baekhyun otherwise.

The waiter dropped their drinks off and Baekhyun downed the glass of water in an instant. He ignored the way Chanyeol chuckled, taking sips of his own glass of some sort of soda. Baekhyun had grown nervous for some reason, now that he was over his initial embarrassment.

“Why did you take me out today?” he asked suddenly. Chanyeol just eyed him again.

“Well, because you asked if we could have dinner,” Chanyeol answered cheekily. Baekhyun gave him a glare and Chanyeol’s face softened.

“Because I like you. I mean, clearly,” Chanyeol hinted with a small smile before looking down at the table. The images from their shared night together had begun forming in Baekhyun’s mind.

“But I mean I like you as a person. The way you talk about art. It’s something I share myself. Obviously, why else would I surround myself with it all the time?” Chanyeol explained. Baekhyun’s heart skipped a beat. He hadn’t realized that.

“I want to get to know you more,” Chanyeol finished. There was a silence after the confession, but it wasn’t awkward, only thoughtful. This was what Baekhyun had wanted when he stayed listening to him that first day in the museum, after all. The genuineness behind Chanyeol’s words now made him feel a twinge of regret for the initial reason to get close to him however.

Chanyeol had refused to meet Baekhyun’s eyes since he said it, as if he was embarrassed. Baekhyun had watched him but it was only a few seconds later that their eyes met. He didn’t know what it was about the other man that made him smile so easy, but there he was, breaking into yet another grin.

It had seemed that a wall between them broke as they began speaking. It was true that their previous interactions had been easy, both of them rebounding back and forth with witty things to say that made Baekhyun feel like it was the first time he was having an actual, enjoyable conversation. But it was different the way they listened to each other now that the feelings had been said out loud.

Baekhyun had launched into a story about Yixing the other day having to deal with a mother who ran into her daughter buying a rather scandalous outfit at the mall, making Chanyeol laugh out loud. The other man’s reactions were big, pure amusement outlined on his face as he reacted in all the right spots. It was attention as if Baekhyun had never received it before and he basked in the feeling.

They were so in tune with each other that when the waiter came by again, Baekhyun hadn’t realized that he hadn’t even properly looked at the menu. He peeked at it in Chanyeol’s hand, seeing a salad at the top menu and read the price upside down. It didn’t look like too much and he looked at the waiter patiently, listening to Chanyeol order. He was about to speak when the waiter turned to him, pen poised over his pad but Chanyeol cut him off before he could even open his mouth.

"The rib eye for him as well, please," Chanyeol told the waiter happily and Baekhyun's jaw almost dropped.

"I wasn't going to order that!" Baekhyun hissed at him, the whisper too full of shock to be discreet. The waiter stood awkwardly, pen paused from writing the order.

"Yeah, but you wanted it. I saw you sneaking looks at the picture on the menu earlier," Chanyeol told him matter-of-factly. Baekhyun was even more shocked. He took a look down at the menu between them, and yes, he did recognize the giant picture of steak that had been staring at him from his untouched menu in between them. He hadn't even realized he had been looking at it until then, so how did Chanyeol notice?

"How would you like that cooked, sir?" The waiter asked gingerly, clearly not knowing what to say. Baekhyun felt bad for him.

"Medium, please," Baekhyun told him, resigning to Chanyeol's choice. The waiter finished writing and scurried off to the next table once again.

Once they were alone again, Chanyeol leaned back in his chair with a smug look on his face, crossing his arms. Baekhyun looked up at him.

"You know that's basically the most expensive thing here, right?" Baekhyun asked, his heart sinking. The menus had been picked up and whisked away by the waiter but Baekhyun's eyes had skimmed the prices printed before they were gone.

"I told you not to worry about money," Chanyeol told him. Baekhyun sighed, his pride bruised.

"Hey, it's not a big deal," Chanyeol said. He was leaning over the table now, trying to get as close to Baekhyun as he could with the table in between them. It worked, though - they were too close for Baekhyun to avoid his eyes.

Chanyeol reached between them for Baekhyun's hand that was laying on the table, his hand resting on top of it. It felt nice and Baekhyun couldn't tell exactly how it calmed him but he knew when Chanyeol squeezed his hand, it was comforting.

They began speaking, passing the time as their food arrived. The conversation got into the proper mood again where Baekhyun felt that no time had passed at all with how engaged he had been. He was surprised when the waiter was back with a tray that was clearly their food, but it was replaced quickly with hunger when his plate was put in front of him. The steak looked even better than it had in the menu picture, perfectly cooked. Baekhyun could feel his mouth begin to water.

He began to eat, almost moaning in delight when he took the first bite and the meat exploded with flavor in his mouth. Chanyeol looked at him with a raised eyebrow, laughing when Baekhyun covered his mouth in embarrassment.

"Is it that good?" Chanyeol asked, a playful smile still on his face.

"Try it for yourself!" Baekhyun said, smiling back at him and waving his fork at Chanyeol's own steak. Chanyeol laughed again before he cut off his own piece of the steak and popped it in his mouth.

"See?" Baekhyun said, giggling when Chanyeol closed his eyes as if to take in the amazing flavor, exaggerating for Baekhyun's benefit.

They ate comfortably, not speaking as they busied themselves with the meal, but their silence did not mean at all that the restaurant was silent. Baekhyun looked around, taking in the ambience of the restaurant since he had been too busy listening to Chanyeol to do so earlier. People at their own tables were speaking, giving the room a friendly chatter as silverware and plates clinked when being moved around by the waiters or guests. There was a light jazz soundtrack playing in the background as well from speakers hidden in the ceiling, livening up the atmosphere.

The waiter came back with the check, dropping off the little black folder when Chanyeol had waved him down to ask for it. Baekhyun wanted to look over at it to read the price, but knew it would only restart their cycle so he leaned back and tried to ignore his painful awareness as Chanyeol picked up the pen, then looked over and signed the receipt.

“How was dinner?” Chanyeol asked, smiling as he closed the check with his card in it and placed it on the edge of the table for the waiter to grab. They both knew the answer to the question, as their plates sat in front of them, not even a scrap of the meal left. Baekhyun just smiled and closed his eyes, as if he was enjoying the flavor all over again. Chanyeol let out a chuckle and Baekhyun felt his heart grow warm at making him laugh.

Baekhyun had driven home after work and taken the metro to get to the museum. He had planned to do the same but Chanyeol argued against it as they left the restaurant, insisting to drive Baekhyun home. They had gotten in the car now, and nothing broke the comfortable silence other than the radio, almost reminiscent of that night they went home from the bar. The car was warm and now that Baekhyun’s stomach was full after the meal, he wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep.

“So was this a date?” Chanyeol asked. Baekhyun tore his gaze from the still buzzing city nightlife outside to turn to the man.

He had both hands on the steering wheel, his fingers regripping it. He stared straight forward at the road ahead, but his bottom lip was pulled in between his teeth. From his accompanying expression with the question Baekhyun knew he was nervous, but he was rendered speechless at how hot the lip bite was.

In other words, it took Baekhyun a second to focus on the question.

“It’s whatever you want it to be,” Baekhyun replied as an open-end. He smirked as he watched Chanyeol who licked his lips, frustrated at the way he was purposely left unanswered.

They were in a quieter area now, only blocks from Baekhyun’s apartment building. Chanyeol had parked right in front of it before another word was uttered. When Baekhyun turned from his gaze that was once again placed on the window to voice his thanks, he was surprised to see Chanyeol leaning over the console in between their seats, almost closing the distance between them. 

From this proximity, it was easy to see the way Chanyeol’s eyes had grown dark, looking over every inch of Baekhyun’s face thoughtfully. Baekhyun didn’t notice he was holding his breath.

“Is it alright if I do this, then?” Chanyeol asked, his voice barely above a whisper and so low that Baekhyun felt weak in the knees. Chanyeol had begun to lean closer slowly, his eyes flicking between Baekhyun’s lips and his eyes. The car grew suddenly warmer to Baekhyun and he couldn’t take it anymore.

Baekhyun closed the gap between them, reaching up and lightly placing his hand on Chanyeol’s face, his fingers gently lacing with the hair above the nape of his neck. Neither of them moved, letting the chaste kiss linger before they broke apart softly. It was different than their last kiss, when they had only wanted to consume the other in their lust.

And it made Baekhyun’s heart flutter with warmth unexpectedly.

Overtaken by the strange emotion, Baekhyun pulled his hand away slowly from where it was on Chanyeol, meaning to pull away completely but the other man wasn’t having it. Chanyeol reached up and cupped Baekhyun’s face with his own hands, pulling him in for another kiss.

Their lips moved together seamlessly and Baekhyun wanted to drink up all of him. He felt a sort of electricity surge through him, deepening the kiss. It was all too soon when they had to pull apart to breathe, close enough that Baekhyun could feel Chanyeol’s hot breath on his skin. 

“I have to go,” Baekhyun whispered. Chanyeol nodded but neither of them moved, wanting the moment to last just a little longer.

Baekhyun finally broke out of his trance and dropped his hands, sitting back in his seat and breathing hard as he adjusted his blazer. He hadn’t needed to - Chanyeol hadn’t messed with it while they were kissing - but there was something about the kiss that made Baekhyun feel cracked at the edges.

He turned to look at Chanyeol one last time to see that the other man was still watching him. Baekhyun couldn’t think of anything to say so he just said nothing, turning to open the door and get out. The night air was cold compared to the warm car and the wind blew through Baekhyun’s hair as he closed the door, leaving the man inside to drive away.

As he climbed the stairs to his apartment, the wind continued to whip against him, icy against his skin. By the time he had walked inside the familiar little place and closed the door, he was still chilled by the weather.

But that warmth in his heart remained and he found that Chanyeol’s kiss had made him not feel the cold at all.

♢♢♢

It had been two days later, finally the weekend, when Baekhyun wasn’t too exhausted to look at the footage from the glasses.

He had managed to scan Kris’s ID card and the barcode was in his computer now. Staring at it, he knew what the magnitude of access to this card was but he had no idea how he was going to use it; it could probably get him into hidden galleries, maybe even straight to the paintings, but he didn’t know the layout of the staff-only part of the museum and it would be too much of a risk to go in blind. Though, access to a museum computer with Kris’s barcode could get him all the valuable information anyway.

Baekhyun sat back in his chair, staring at the scanned ID sitting at the bottom of his screen. It felt like it was mocking him with how much was right in reach but still far away. He couldn’t sneak into the museum itself just for computer access.

The footage from his glasses was still playing, replaying his night from when it hadn’t paused because of Baekhyun’s haste to get the card scanned. He turned his gaze to watch, a scene from the car ride to their dinner playing straight from his perspective. Baekhyun thought it was funny to watch himself looking out the window again. On-screen Baekhyun turned to look in the direction of the driver’s seat, Chanyeol sitting and looking straight forward in his focus on the road. Feeling Baekhyun’s gaze on him, he turned and glanced at the other man once they reached the red light, flashing him a quick smile. Baekhyun could feel the corner of his lips tugging now and knows for certain that he must have smiled in the car after seeing that as well.

The realization struck him in such a flash that he couldn’t _believe_ he had been so dumb in the first place.

The memory of walking into Chanyeol’s apartment from their one night together replayed in a flash before his eyes, as the door had closed behind him and he’d turned, Chanyeol’s office to his left. He remembered glancing in at _the computer on the desk just inside_.

Shouldn’t Chanyeol have access to the same mainframe that Kris does?

Baekhyun stood up from his chair in a rush and cursed in French, the language he had been slipping into more and more in his thoughts with the planning of this heist. He ran to his bed and picked up his coat that had been thrown on it and neglected since he had arrived home from work. Going back to the computer, he made sure he copied the scanned barcode into his phone so he could access it later and put on the glasses after making sure they were recording and within minutes, he was out the door.

The apartment was empty except for the bright computer, still replaying the night of their dinner.

♢♢♢

It was already deep into the night when he pulled into the parking lot of the printing center. Baekhyun was lucky enough to find the building that ran 24 hours in the city, with only one other car in the lot and the lights on. It was in a less well-kept part of the city, but Baekhyun had seen enough in Paris to be able to take care of himself if danger would arise.

He walked in and was directed to the card printer and desktop towards the back that the bored worker pointed out when he asked. Baekhyun made his way there and began to work quickly. It was definitely illegal what he was doing and though the worker didn’t look like he cared, Baekhyun was still the only other person in the building and didn’t want to raise suspicion. Normally he wouldn’t have risked something like this, but he didn’t have the time or money to get his own card printer like the one the Wolves had back in Paris. This time, he just had to make do with what he had. 

After all, he was completely on his own.

He printed a second ID with the scanned one, looking like a replica of the one Kris had dropped right in front of him only days ago. Baekhyun pocketed it and walked over to the desk, muttering a thank you as he dropped the coins that printing cost onto the surface. The worker just nodded slowly, looking like he was close to falling asleep as Baekhyun walked out.

He got back into his car and sighed as the door closed. The next part of his plan was a toss-up and if it didn’t work now, he was only going to be faced with embarrassment later. He pulled out his phone and sent the text.

[12:24 AM] Baekhyun: are u awake

It was only seconds after that his phone buzzed with a reply.

[12:24 AM] Chanyeol: Yes. Is everything alright?

Baekhyun tried not to cringe as he typed out the text. He needed this to work.

[12:24 AM] Baekhyun: can i come over? i need you.

Baekhyun saw the one word reply and breathed a sigh of relief as he started the car and drove, heading in the direction of Chanyeol’s apartment.

♢♢♢

Chanyeol was still confused when there was a knock on the door, who could only be Baekhyun. The texts his phone had received only around fifteen minutes earlier were so vague that Chanyeol didn’t know what to expect.

He opened the door and revealed the smaller man. Baekhyun was staring at him with an intensity Chanyeol immediately detected, his cheeks red from the cold. He looked even smaller in a light black jacket and sweatpants, also wearing the same glasses from their dinner date days ago. Chanyeol barely got a second to think before Baekhyun basically threw himself on him, stepping inside and reaching up to grab the back of Chanyeol’s head and push him into a kiss.

Chanyeol knew kissing Baekhyun like this well and he pulled him in instantly, his body seeming to react faster than his brain as he turned the smaller man around and closed the door, pressing him against it. The meaning behind the text messages made itself clear in an instant. Chanyeol could practically feel it through his bones.

_I need you._

He had needed him in this way, Chanyeol realized, as he kissed down the skin of Baekhyun’s neck, the quiet sigh Baekhyun made in response filling the room, the only sound other than the chattering television that he had forgotten to turn off in his haste to open the door. The familiar shiver of need went down Chanyeol’s spine at the sound and he slipped his hands under Baekhyun’s sweater, the skin warm to his touch.

It surprised him as Baekhyun grasped at Chanyeol’s arms, his grip hard enough to unpin himself from the wall and switch their positions. This time it was Baekhyun kissing down Chanyeol’s body and soon enough, Chanyeol’s shirt was on the floor long forgotten and Baekhyun was unzipping his jeans to reveal his hardened cock.

Chanyeol entwined his fingers in Baekhyun’s hair as the boy looked up at him, making eye contact as he wrapped his lips around Chanyeol’s cock. Chanyeol couldn’t help the moan that fell from his lips as he squeezed his eyes shut and looked up, tightening his hands into Baekhyun’s hair painfully and pulling it closer to him. Chanyeol probably would have normally been embarrassed by the strong reaction, but he was too busy being distracted by Baekhyun giving him the best head of his life.

It wasn’t long before he was close, the desperation building in him enough to accidentally thrust into Baekhyun’s mouth, the boy gagging a bit as he let his cock slip off his lips, catching his breath.

“Are you okay?” Chanyeol asked, concerned as he looked down to meet Baekhyun’s eyes. That was probably his mistake as he saw how messed up his hair was and how prettily his lips were parted, bright red from his efforts as he caught his breath. He looked thoroughly fucked and Chanyeol gulped.

Baekhyun seemed to know his effect and held the eye contact, his eyes dark as he reached one of his pretty hands up to wrap around the base of Chanyeol’s cock, taking him in his mouth and beginning to suck him off again as Chanyeol watched, unable to tear his eyes away.

“You can fuck my mouth,” Baekhyun said as he pulled off Chanyeol’s cock for a second, the words fast enough that Chanyeol almost didn’t catch them, his brain a haze in his pleasure.

Chanyeol didn’t waste time once the words had processed, thrusting into his mouth gingerly to avoid hitting the back of Baekhyun’s throat again. He would have moved at a slower pace but the way Baekhyun’s tongue was rubbing along the underside of his cock just right was doing nothing other than push him dangerously closer to the edge.

Chanyeol thrust into him properly then, seeking his release as Baekhyun took him perfectly. His orgasm hit him fast enough that he didn’t have time to warn the boy before he was coming in his mouth. He was about to panic but Baekhyun’s tongue was rubbing along his tip, taking all of his come into his mouth and swallowing it down. Chanyeol looked down after he finished to see him lick the edge of his mouth, catching some of the come that had dripped down his chin.

If Chanyeol hadn’t literally came two seconds ago, he was certain his dick would be hardening at the sight.

Baekhyun stood up from his kneeling position and gave Chanyeol a close-mouthed kiss. He pulled apart a second later, their faces still close as they gasped for breath.

“You know, I really hate the taste of come,” Baekhyun told him, smacking his lips a little in distaste. Chanyeol’s eyes widened and he opened his mouth to apologize but Baekhyun just shook his head to keep him quiet.

“It was worth it to watch you,” Baekhyun whispered, pulling him in for another kiss. Baekhyun wrapped his arms around Chanyeol’s neck and leaned up onto his toes to deepen the kiss, trying to make up for his lack of height.

Baekhyun tightened his grip around Chanyeol as he reached down to grab his thighs, picking him up and wrapping his legs secured around his waist. He carried him to the bedroom that way, a mirror image of what they had done that night after the bar not long ago.

Baekhyun giggled as he was tossed onto the bed, and when their eyes met, Chanyeol felt a wave of happiness surge through him at the sight. Baekhyun seemed to be a picture of beauty laying down and staring up at him, his eyes glowing as he smiled expectantly. Chanyeol couldn’t help the smile that grew on his own face as he climbed onto the bed and hovered over him, kissing the boy gently as he tried to ignore the way his heart was skipping beats.

“It’s your turn now,” Chanyeol whispered, relishing in the way Baekhyun shivered at the words under him.

♢♢♢

Baekhyun had still been buzzed from his orgasm after they finished as Chanyeol cleaned him up and laid in bed next to him. Chanyeol seemed to be one of the people who was drained enough after coming to sleep easily, and usually Baekhyun was as well, but the adrenaline rushing through him was too strong to do anything other than lay awake.

After all, Baekhyun had worn the glasses to Chanyeol’s apartment for a reason.

He tried to ignore the nagging voice in his head that this was a betrayal as he slipped out of the covers as quietly as he could manage, sitting up to turn around and make sure Chanyeol was still asleep. Sure enough, there was Chanyeol’s relaxed figure outlined under the blankets, lightly rising and falling slowly as he breathed. The man had fallen asleep facing Baekhyun, which the smaller one hadn’t noticed since he had been staring at the wall, but the sight of his relaxed face made the same strange feeling clench his heart as when they kissed in the car when Chanyeol had dropped him off from their dinner. When that strange feeling partnered with the evil voice in his head that was trying to guilt him, they were a formidable pair to convince Baekhyun to just lay down and sleep knowing Chanyeol was next to him.

But even though Baekhyun was starting to realize with a sinking feeling what that strange feeling had to be, he knew that he didn’t live in a perfect world. In this world, Baekhyun wasn’t deserving of a simple pleasure like laying in bed next to someone like Chanyeol. He had important things to do. Which were also unfortunately, _illegal_ things to do.

So Baekhyun stood up and walked with silent steps to his abandoned jeans on the floor, pulling the forged copy of Kris’s museum ID out of his wallet and slipping into the waistband of Chanyeol’s shorts that he had borrowed, along with the extremely oversized t-shirt. He walked silently to the bedroom door and stepped out, closing it quietly behind him. He knew in that moment that the simple action probably also signified the closing door on Chanyeol’s trust that Baekhyun would receive sooner or later.

The apartment in the dead of the night was surprisingly unfamiliar without Chanyeol next to him. Maybe it was his own knowledge that what he was doing was wrong and pretty risky to accomplish inside Chanyeol’s own apartment, or maybe it was some mysterious aura that surrounded it, but it had Baekhyun’s heart pumping. He was officially in mission mode, and this was the environment his task had put him in.

Baekhyun walked, still with the silent steps he had learned to adopt by sneaking around both on illegal tasks and around the Wolves’ headquarters towards the front entrance of the apartment. There exactly where he expected it were the double doors, the windows displaying the computer. Baekhyun needed his hands on it.

He tapped the side of his glasses, making sure they were on and breathing out a small sigh as he saw the screen near the bottom of his view light up in response. He was recording.

Baekhyun reached for the door, pulling on the knob gently and immediately feeling a rush of relief at the fact that there wasn’t a squeak in the door. There had been a slight squeak in the bedroom door, but it had been enough to set Baekhyun’s heart racing at the prospect of Chanyeol discovering him.

He was inside the office and stood in his place, turning as if to examine it. He watched the glasses whir to life, beginning to scan his surroundings, brightening the screen as if to view the office washed in light without him having to physically turn on the switch. Baekhyun couldn’t help but smile at the technology; Seulgi may have always been a pain in the ass, but she was a fucking goddess for adapting this kind of stuff for the Wolves.

The glasses had finished scanning and Baekhyun moved forward towards the computer. This part was mostly based on his own sheer luck, but it had come through enough for him to shake the mouse awake and reveal the same log in screen to the museum’s server that had appeared to work for Kris’s log in credentials. Baekhyun had reached down to his waistband to pull out the card when the glasses began to scan something at the corner of his view, just past the computer, catching his eye. 

Baekhyun couldn’t believe his luck when he realized what it was.

Chanyeol’s own ID was sitting out on the desk, left there after his work. His desk was presumably safe, so of course he had let it sit out during the night. Baekhyun once again couldn’t believe his luck. It had come to him then that he would probably only make it out of this task, with it being time-sensitive and him being alone, relying on a large amount of dumb luck.

“Oh, Chanyeol,” he muttered under his breath, reaching for it and holding it in front of his face for the glasses to get a better view. 

The ID scanned completely, the little progress bar finishing and disappearing off the screen. It looked the same as all the other times that Baekhyun had seen it, but he couldn’t get the image out of his mind.

He should probably enjoy Chanyeol’s kisses while he still could.

He shook the thought from his mind and reached the keyboard, typing in the credentials that he’d been able to steal from the barcode after some maneuvering on his own computer, the sounds of his fingers tapping the keys loud in the otherwise silent room. He would be able to search through both accounts, but he needed to figure this out first. 

He was led to a remote desktop and tapped on the welcome screen at the bottom of the page, Kris’s name printed clearly to show that it had worked. Baekhyun felt his heartbeat pick up just a little at the realization.

He looked up from the computer but the door was still ajar where he had left it, so he could clearly hear any sounds of stirring. The apartment was still dead silent. Despite his fears of seeing Chanyeol in the midst of catching him, the only view that met him was a barren wall from the other side of the entrance hall.

Baekhyun looked down at the computer screen still waiting for him patiently. He took a breath, meaning to shake the last of his worries away. Then Baekhyun sat down and began to work rapidly.

It didn’t take longer than ten minutes but by the time he was finished, his heart was pounding loud enough that it seemed like it was echoing. He turned off the computer quickly and looked around, grabbing Kris’s ID and stuffing it in his waistband, then arranging Chanyeol’s so that it seemed untouched. The little screen on the bottom right of his glasses was at a 100% again, but it was a different progress bar - one that had already remotely connected Chanyeol’s computer to his own laptop.

Baekhyun was riding on the fact that Chanyeol didn’t know much about computers past what his job entailed, which seemed to be mostly emails anyway. He had covered up his tracks as best as he could, hiding the required changed settings behind a firewall that he hoped was hidden enough as well for Chanyeol not to stumble upon it. He would have to go home and cover up his own computer’s traces as well, in case he was caught and tracked.

He sneaked out of the office, now mostly left as he had found it, adrenaline roaring through his system. His mission was time-sensitive now. He needed to get the information and seduce Chanyeol one way or another soon enough that his track wasn’t caught. He wasn’t Jongin, who could have manipulated the attacked computer so well that they’d never find it.

Baekhyun was met with the view of the empty kitchen, the digital clock on the oven glowing an awful 3 in the morning at him. The guilt was sitting in his heart heavily already though he was willing it away as well as he could. He looked out at the darkened window; he really should leave now. Chanyeol made him weak in a way he didn’t like and going back to lay next to him didn’t sound appealing to his conflicted emotions.

Baekhyun walked back towards the bedroom door to change into his clothes, his decision to return home made. He opened it, expecting to find Chanyeol where he had left him, but was surprised to see the other man sitting up on the bedside. Baekhyun was about to make some excuse, his heart racing in his chest but Chanyeol’s eyes lit up through the darkness as he saw Baekhyun, making his nerves disappear.

“Come here,” Chanyeol said, not moving from his spot on the bed but flashing Baekhyun a smile that was blindingly handsome. Baekhyun couldn’t help the smile that appeared on his own face as he stared at the man, the only light source coming from the bathroom with its door ajar, keeping his face illuminated just enough to be visible but still hidden in the otherwise dim room. It made him look unfairly mysterious and beautiful.

Baekhyun knew that it was irrational that his worries had left him, but the smile on Chanyeol’s face clearly meant he didn’t suspect anything. Baekhyun relished in the way the other man’s eyes didn’t leave him as he walked over to him, standing over Chanyeol from where he sat. Chanyeol chuckled, his voice deeper from sleep and making Baekhyun’s heart flutter unfairly.

“What is it?” Baekhyun whispered. They were the only ones in the apartment but with their faces this close together, Baekhyun hadn’t felt this comfortably intimate in a long time. Whispering felt perfect.

“You’re taller than me,” Chanyeol said, a smirk playing on his lips. Baekhyun scoffed and rolled his eyes. Chanyeol kissed his smiling lips even as he whined into it.

This wasn’t fair, Baekhyun knew. But there was something about the way the other man was kissing him, lips soft and gentle against his, and holding him, his big hands holding his waist steadily and making their bodies rest together perfectly, that made him not care.

Baekhyun had already accepted he wasn’t a good person. How could he be after everything that happened in Paris? His life felt like a series of mistakes that he was constantly trying to fix, but every time he saw Chanyeol felt like a break from the endless cycle. Maybe he was setting himself up for another mistake he’d have to fix in the form of a pretty man that kissed him and made him forget his imperfection after he broke his trust.

But this moment was enough for Baekhyun to think being selfish now was worth it anyway.

“What’s on your mind?” Chanyeol whispered, placing fluttering kisses down his jaw and onto his neck as lightly as butterflies landing on his skin. Baekhyun closed his eyes.

“Nothing,” he lied. It felt like poison, leaving a bitter taste heavy on his tongue. 

“Come back to bed,” Chanyeol said simply as he pulled away, meeting his eyes.

Baekhyun knew he should make an excuse to leave. He should just pick up his clothes and slip into the bathroom and change. He’d be out the door in minutes, in his car driving and back at his own dinky apartment within the hour.

But he hadn't really looked into Chanyeol’s eyes until this moment, a dark rich brown that reminded him of chocolate glittering as they looked at Baekhyun’s face, seeming to drink in his every detail, from the way his lips were slightly parted to the way his hair was a little messy against his forehead from sleep. Looking into Chanyeol’s eyes was like opening a book long sat on your bookshelf and reading the words for the first time, with the overwhelming and obvious feelings he could pick out on them that he hadn't cared to look for before. It made Baekhyun’s heart beat pick up, nerves in him unsettling.

But his body still buzzed from Chanyeol’s kisses and touches that had left an impression in his skin and Baekhyun could pick it up in his eyes clear as day - Chanyeol knew he was thinking of something, contemplating leaving. But he wanted him to stay.

So he decided he could be selfish just a little longer. The decision was made without words and just through their movements and looks, something they had come to understand in each other with ease, as if it was a fluent language they had hidden inside of them. They hadn’t done much more than sleep with each other but their actions now spoke of more than that and both knew it. They also didn’t really care.

Baekhyun should’ve gone home that night. But instead he fell asleep with Chanyeol’s arms around him and though his constant stress had left him with restless nights for days, he slept deeply.

♢♢♢

_The night air was cold around Baekhyun, but what should’ve left him uncomfortable did not hinder the fact that this was the most at home he had ever felt in Paris - he couldn’t think of a single moment through his years at the orphanage, the year he had spent with a foster family, or his time with the Wolves that lived up to this._

_“Isn’t it beautiful?” Jongin whispered beside him and it struck a chord in Baekhyun’s heart; he was certain there was no image more fitting for the definition of the word ‘beautiful’._

_The sight before him was beautiful, of the Paris city street lights in front of him, of the people still walking through the busy streets and the infamous Eiffel Tower shining in the distance. Standing on the roof of the Louvre wasn’t exactly accessible to tourists and it was probably illegal too, since they weren’t exactly allowed to be up there, but Baekhyun almost thought it was a shame. He had hated this city for all the hardships it had handed him, but he could almost see the tourist appeal from up here, why they called it the city of lights and the city of love - for once, he looked at his home and saw a city full of promise._

_But maybe that was just because Jongin was here with him._

_“When did you even get up here the first time?” Baekhyun asked incredulously, turning to look at his friend who was standing farther back on the roof, his arms crossed in the cocky way and a knowing smile on his face as he stared at his friend’s reaction._

_“Taemin took me up here a few weeks ago. You know the necklace trade-off?” Jongin asked him._

_That job had been incredibly too easy for what it sounded like; a man had ended up being traded an expensive diamond necklace stolen from the jewelry store and wanted it rid of, afraid of the police and offering them a hefty sum to do so. It would have been a job the Wolves wouldn’t have bat their eyes at with how much it sounded like a scam or a trap, but one of their trusted contacts were offering yet another large sum for the necklace as well, a huge stroke of luck with how it seemed to have fallen into their hands. Jongin and Taemin were sent off and made it back with a decent profit._

_“He brought me up here. I knew you needed to see it, Baek,” Jongin said. His smile had changed, his eyes softening as he spoke the last words. Baekhyun felt a wave of affection surge through for the other boy; he had never felt more thankful for him to have appeared and befriended Baekhyun._

_Baekhyun really had no idea how he would have made it this far without Jongin._

_With that thought Baekhyun closed their distance and wrapped his arms around Jongin, pushing all of his affection and thankfulness and overwhelming emotions that were whirling inside him and making his heart fuzzy into the hug. They had gotten past the point of trying to maintain pride in front of each other long ago; the unspoken words from Baekhyun resonated and he could feel in the way Jongin hugged him back that his feelings were returned completely._

_“We’ll get out of here, you know. I promised you,” Jongin whispered in his ear as they hugged. Baekhyun squeezed his eyes shut, willing the tears not to come. They were words usually spoken in hushed promises in their dorm room, kept out of other prying ears. Out in the night air, they were lost in the wind of the city seemingly flushed in a new light of hope._

_“One day we won’t have to wear these Wolves jackets and we won’t have to scrape by their rules and you can spend all day in art museums with me and we won’t have to hide,” Jongin said, his voice louder in the wind. It was liberating. Jongin’s voice cracked towards the end and they could both feel the excitement, the thrill of having something amazing to look forward to and change everything. It hadn’t seemed possible in those secrets at headquarters, but that night everything seemed possible._

_But Baekhyun realized later that he should’ve known that. With Jongin, anything was possible._

♢♢♢

Baekhyun awoke calmly, his eyes still closed and his thoughts still immersed in the dream. It was only then that reality settled in.

Jongin was long dead.

He could feel his heart sink and the tears poking behind his eyelids in an awful moment. He was used to the nightmares, to having to relive the moment of Jongin’s death or other horrid things he’d seen in the Paris underworld. He knew how to deal with those. It was the happy memories that he didn’t know how to handle, bittersweet as he realizes just how far he’s fallen.

Baekhyun pulled the covers in his arms closer to him, squeezing them tightly in his need to hold onto something. He realized in that moment that they weren’t his covers and remembered where he was, what he had done last night. He held his breath, hearing the other person in the room breathing next to him. He became painfully aware of the arm that was wrapped around his waist, Chanyeol’s after he pulled him back to bed, letting himself fall asleep in Chanyeol’s arms.

He never felt more dirty.

Baekhyun tried not to make a noise as the tears fell and he snaked out of Chanyeol’s grip, trying not to wake him. He let out a shaky breath when the other man didn’t stir and walked around the room, picking up his strewn clothes left on the floor as silently as he could. It was more difficult in the midst of crying, tears falling and his breathing uneven as he tried to silence it. Baekhyun snuck out the bedroom door and shut it quietly before hastily making his way across and out of the apartment. He didn’t try to be quiet anymore as he got into his car and closed the door shut before letting himself sob.

There had been nothing wrong with the sex. Nothing wrong with Chanyeol himself, with his sweet kisses and strong arms and smile that seemed to make Baekhyun melt in the perfect way. It was the guilt sitting heavy on his heart that made him feel like his skin was burning where he had woken with Chanyeol holding him. It was the same uneasy thoughts and evil voice in his head that couldn’t let him enjoy the few moments of pure happiness he had stolen in a long time. The one that couldn’t stop asking him, _Why do you even try to look for happiness anymore when all you did before was crush it?_

Baekhyun just knew that he didn’t want Chanyeol finding him like this, and he didn’t want to risk it after his hasty and probably loud escape so he started the car and began driving. He was out of the apartment complex in minutes and honestly, it was a miracle he had made it back to his own place safely with the way his vision blurred with tears every time his brain wandered back to the dream and the overwhelming feelings that came with it as he drove.

He was back in his own place, as quiet as Chanyeol's had been with him sleeping, but it felt so much colder than the apartment he had just left. His mind knew it was better to be here, knew that he still couldn’t handle Jongin’s death after years and Chanyeol would never call him again if he knew. But he couldn’t help how his heart ached for the man to be just a closed door away again. 

Baekhyun stood in the doorway, his coat and shoes still on and keys in hand. His computer was still on where he had left it and his apartment was a mess. It struck him then how tired he was, how exhausted and mentally drained he felt and he wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep, even if he was terrified of another dream. But the world had a funny way of messing with him and he groaned when he looked out the window in his apartment - the sky was just starting to show the first signs of lighting up, the night gone now. Baekhyun glanced at his phone to confirm the worst and sure enough, he had work in a few short hours. On a normal day he would be waking up in only an hour to shower and get ready.

Sleeping was a useless feat now, he knew that. So Baekhyun walked over to the painfully bright computer screen and sat down, taking his glasses off and wiping the lenses clean with a careful touch to not damage them. He grabbed the computer mouse and examined the screen for a few seconds before getting to work. 

After the eventful night, he had managed his initial purpose. Though he was certain he would need a coffee to even barely survive the day with the fitful sleep he had gotten, he had his work cut out for him now. Not even the sun slowly rising behind him could stop the accomplished smile from ghosting on his lips as he remotely pulled up the museum’s database, his own screen a replica of what Chanyeol’s had shown him only hours ago.

This was just a step closer to finishing this seemingly impossible task.

♢♢♢

It seemed like all the coffee in the world couldn’t help Baekhyun today.

He had downed two cups of coffee and for each of them Baekhyun had almost fallen asleep at the register. Even though he was standing up, he found himself leaning against it and about to fall over in his tiredness. 

Yixing has watched him do it the first time but Baekhyun had shrugged him off and told him to go help the customer that was waving him over. Yixing has just given him a worried look and complied, but Baekhyun hasn’t been able to hide the second time when Yixing was working the register right next to him.

Baekhyun let his eyes close for just a second and missed it when his knees started to buckle, waking up as he started to fall forward. Yixing had leaned over and had a hand around him, grabbing at his back to keep him up. Baekhyun felt his cheeks heat up as he stood up and composed himself, his eyes darting around the store and feeling thankful that Irene hadn’t been around to spot him and neither were any questioning customers.

“Did you stay up studying too long?” Yixing asked under his breath and Baekhyun turned to meet his eyes once before quickly looking away. The pure worry and kindness of the other man was just making guilt bubble up in him. 

“I didn’t sleep,” Baekhyun muttered to an audible exhale from Yixing. Though almost falling over has shocked him awake, he could already feel the bone-deep exhaustion set in.

“Go home and get some sleep,” Yixing told him and Baekhyun looked at him with wide eyes.

“I can’t just leave-“

“Go,” Yixing said, with more authority in his voice than Baekhyun had ever heard from the man, usually softer spoken.

Baekhyun just glanced at the door to the storage of the store where Irene was currently sorting out their shipments and sighed.

“I’ll take care of her. You really can’t stay like this, Baek, go home,” Yixing looked at him, begging. Baekhyun couldn’t say no to him and nodded.

The guilt of skipping out on work was there of course, but he hoped Yixing really could convince their manager that he was sick or make up an excuse similar enough. Baekhyun probably shouldn’t have been driving with the way the car behind him had to honk their horn to wake him up when the light turned green, but his apartment was close enough anyway.

His computer was still on as he walked into his apartment, connected remotely to Kris’s account. He looked at it momentarily and watched a new e-mail come in, but couldn’t care enough to check it when his bed was so close.

Baekhyun collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep before he even hit the mattress.

The sky outside the window was setting when Baekhyun woke up hours later, feeling much less like a truck had run over him.

Baekhyun sighed and stood up, cold from sleeping without even bothering to tuck himself in but happy that he hadn’t had to wake up with an alarm for once. He reached for his phone and was surprised to see the text that greeted him as his phone lit up.

[5:47 PM] Yixing: you know that movie night i told you about? it’s tonight at 7, so come over if u don’t sleep thru it 

It was followed by an address and Baekhyun just left it open for a second. He glanced at his desk again, stuff for his classes messily strewn across it along with it being open on the remote computer. Just the sight of it reminded him of how much he had to do and Baekhyun could feel himself start to stress.

It wouldn’t be awful to have one night off. If he could sneak off with Chanyeol often, then he had time to meet up with who was his only friend here.

[6:52 PM] Baekhyun: i’ll be there

♢♢♢

Baekhyun was outside the door of Yixing’s apartment before he thought this might be a bad idea.

He was going to knock right when he heard the loud laughter inside, Yixing’s mixed in with other unfamiliar voices. Yixing has never laughed that hard around Baekhyun.

The voice in his head had come back. Baekhyun was going to be out of here after the heist, which was just around six weeks away. Just hearing the laughter inside, Baekhyun could tell that Yixing would be fine without him. Wouldn’t it be better to turn around now, and give him less of something to miss?

Baekhyun almost did, turning on his heels and meaning to walk back to his car and forget he’d ever come. But his phone dinged in his hand and he looked down at it.

[7:05 PM] Yixing: are you on ur way??

He stared at the phone and then looked up at the sky, with its shades of red and pink as the sun set. The temperature was warming up, to the point where the jacket he had on was more of a habit than a necessity. It was the perfect night to go out.

So why was Baekhyun planning to leave?

Before he could let the voice convince him otherwise, he looked back at the door and knocked.

He heard the noises inside as someone shouted about the door and the voices inside quieted. Moments later, the latch on the inside unlocked and the door opened, showing Yixing smiling brightly at him. Baekhyun gave him a bit of a nervous smile as Yixing opened the door wider to let him in.

The apartment wasn’t much bigger than Baekhyun’s, but it was definitely neater. A cozy little living room set-up greeted him, with a surprisingly nice TV sitting on a little dark wood stand, a fluffy patterned rug set on the floor, and a gray rounded couch facing the television, with a low coffee table in between the couch and television the same dark color as the TV stand, an open pizza box sitting on top of it. There were two men Baekhyun had never seen before lounging on the couch, smiling at him with the same brightness as Yixing.

“I’m Luhan and this is Tao. You must be Baekhyun,” said the shorter of the two when they both stood up, waving at him. He was surprisingly pretty, with soft features and fluffy hair while the other man didn’t have quite as shockingly delicate of a face, but was still handsome. 

“He finally showed up for once,” Yixing teased and Baekhyun scoffed, still flustered from meeting people. It really had been disappointing that he’d never bothered to accept Yixing’s offer to go out before.

“Well, you’re always welcome whenever. That way, we can actually put a face to the person who Yixing always mentions when he talks about work,” Tao smiled cheekily as he said it, glancing at Yixing in the same teasing manner.

“I’ll make sure to show up more often then,” Baekhyun said and he meant it. The two men were nice enough, and Baekhyun had promised to spend his last two months here well. 

“Oh, where’s your accent from?” Luhan asked as they moved to sit down on the couch, Baekhyun ending up next to him with Tao on Luhan’s other side and Yixing next to Baekhyun. Tao was looking at him curiously as well and Baekhyun didn’t blame him; Baekhyun hadn’t met another French immigrant in his time in America yet, so of course the accent would be intriguing.

“He’s from France. Came here a few years ago,” Yixing explained and Baekhyun nodded. The other two were surprised and began asking him questions, the same kind of questions Baekhyun always heard. It was not the first time he wished he could look back on Paris with the same fondness as it seemed Americans did.

Not long after the introductions were done, Baekhyun found himself fitting into their rhythm well. He ate a piece of pizza and laughed in all the right spots at the movie they were watching, a romantic comedy he’d never heard of that was already chosen before he arrived. It was entertaining enough, but the side comments that Luhan, Tao, and Yixing made were enough to make his sides hurt from laughing. Baekhyun hadn’t felt as happy doing something so meaningless in a long time, feeling his worries dissolve away just spending time with them.

It was halfway through the movie during a lively scene that filled the apartment with noise from the TV speakers that he checked his phone, which buzzed in his pocket just a moment before.

[9:14 PM] Chanyeol: It’s kind of boring in my apartment. What are you up to?

Baekhyun smiled down at the text. Chanyeol hadn’t texted him for much other than invitations but something simple like this was nice to read.

[9:14 PM] Baekhyun: i’m watching a movie w friends but i can talk what’s up?

[9:15 PM] Chanyeol: Nothing, I just wanted to talk to you.

Baekhyun felt his heart betray him with a little flutter as he tried to hide the smile. He assumed this kind of giddy feeling he got was something that was more reserved towards teenagers and their relationships, but Chanyeol had made Baekhyun feel things that he wasn’t used to. He clearly wasn’t good at hiding it when Yixing hummed in his ear, having read the notification on his screen.

“Tell me about him after the movie, won’t you?” Yixing whispered and Baekhyun turned, seeing him raise his eyebrows in question. He nodded, giving him a small smile.

Baekhyun texted Chanyeol back and the movie seemed to dissolve away even though he had been interested in it before. It seemed that their text conversations could be just as witty as their real ones, as Chanyeol told him over text a funny story about Kris. Baekhyun couldn’t suppress a few giggles that he stifled to not bother the others watching the movie, and couldn’t help but imagine Chanyeol actually telling him the story, with his big reactions and huge smile.

“He doesn’t mind about a lot of things,” Baekhyun told Yixing as they sat on the couch hours later, when Luhan and Tao had left. Yixing looked at him with the same kind expression that he always wore when speaking to him in the store, but for once it was without the pity that Baekhyun was exhausted like he always was at work. He didn’t realize how nice it was.

“Like, moving here recently, still studying and working,” Baekhyun elaborated and Yixing nodded. They both could relate to the job situation at least - it was too often that some people treated them poorly in the store.

“He’s not poor, but he doesn’t mind that I am, is what I’m trying to say,” Baekhyun finished. Speaking like this to Yixing was awkward for him, and felt like a betrayal to the closed off mentality he’d always had. His vow for the rest of the time in Boston was going to be something he’d have to betray his own heart often for.

There was a moment where Baekhyun looked down and fiddled with his fingers. The silence was awkward, at least for Baekhyun, and he was just hoping he hadn’t somehow said something wrong when Yixing spoke.

“You must really like him then,” Yixing said and it was so tender hearted that Baekhyun had to look up. Yixing was giving him a small smile, so soft paired with the kindness in his eyes that Baekhyun felt his initial anxiety melt away. Yixing was genuinely happy for Baekhyun to have found someone, and it was time for Baekhyun to be happy about the same.

“Yeah,” he admitted quietly, the words carrying weight as he’d never spoken them aloud or even for himself in his own heart. He’d never let himself.

“I really do.”

♢♢♢

The next week went by as a blur for Baekhyun, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t working.

Now that he had access to both Kris and Chanyeol’s work regarding the museum, he found himself with so much information that he almost didn’t know what to do with it. He was grateful his online classes weren’t too busy at the moment as he spent his free time sitting in the bookstore coffee shop after he worked with his laptop open and scrolling through e-mails.

It was a treasure trove regarding the upcoming gala, only a month or so away now, with e-mails coming from everything from caterers to other employees to guests themselves, people that were renowned in the art world and had connections in museum business when Baekhyun looked each one up, searching for something to help him. 

Back at his apartment he worked even more, printing out the useful stuff, like maps of museums and information regarding security and the art itself, and taking notes along the way. His mental scenarios and run-throughs of the heist in his mind had taken over his brain but he was pretty certain now what he had to do, and had tried to sift through every second where he could get caught. His brain always seemed to be disconnected from his body, always running through the same night and the same heist to try to piece together everything and solve every little problem that arose. He had decided on a plan enough to begin the actual illegal part.

What he meant by illegal, besides the whole hacking into private museum information and accounts, was actually messing with the security system.

He had researched the specific security system as well, knowing the cameras were going to be his biggest issue and condemning if he didn’t set them up right. Every bit of information he could glean about the security set across the museum was poured over and he was getting significantly better at coding as well, his brain rehashing tricks he had watched Jongin do and listen to him geek out about after a successful mission back in France. It was a miracle, really, that it pieced together enough that he was ecstatic when he moved the first security camera just an inch over to hide what his escape plan would be. Of course, he hadn’t been able to get a second of rest that night, out of his mind with worry that police were going to come knocking on his door, but by the time he moved it another inch the following night, he had decided that getting jailed in Boston would always be a better outcome than having to return to Paris and the Wolves.

The heist took over his being it seemed like, even in his restless moments of thinking in the department store to the point that Yixing looked at him funny. But it’s only opponent for Baekhyun’s mind was Chanyeol, in the form of the constant texts lighting up his phone.

He didn’t know exactly what made it happen but after the night at Yixing’s, Baekhyun had found himself texting the man non-stop. It felt juvenile, like something teenagers would do, but he couldn’t keep the smile off his face when he stayed up later than usual, reading the texts that would remind him to take care of himself or would be in the midst of a good conversation. He knew he was looking at his phone to the point of obsessiveness, but especially after admitting to himself that yes, he actually _liked_ Chanyeol, he wasn’t trying to hide his excitement whenever his phone buzzed again.

[5:08 PM] Chanyeol: I know the Oscars were months ago, but I’ll never forgive them for giving Green Book best picture.

Baekhyun was in the employee area after his shift, picking up his stuff to leave when he read the text, rolling his eyes with a small smile on his face. What had been a discussion of good movies had turned into a criticism of popular movies and the response they had gotten.

[5:09 PM] Baekhyun: they didn’t even nominate infinity war and that was literally movie of the year

[5:10 PM] Chanyeol: The Oscars hate superhero movies… but it’s alright since Bohemian Rhapsody was much better anyway.

[5:10 PM] Baekhyun: ok bohemian rhapsody was good but like, i was sobbing at the end of infinity war and so were multiple people in the theater, what basic superhero movie does that?

[5:11 PM] Chanyeol: Are you really telling me you didn’t cry when Freddie told the others he had AIDS?

Baekhyun smiled again as he slung his bag over his shoulder, ready to leave to the coffee shop once again. He stood in place however, reading the next text that came in.

[5:12 PM] Chanyeol: This is an atrocity actually, that you don’t agree with me. You have to fix your standards.

[5:12 PM] Chanyeol: Come over right now, let’s watch Bohemian Rhapsody so I can prove it to you.

Baekhyun looked up after he read the text, feeling like he had just been caught. There was no one in the room however, as Yixing was still working for another few hours. The coffee that he had been looking forward to all day suddenly began to pale in his mind in comparison to a movie with Chanyeol.

It didn’t take more than a split second for him to decide and he was out the door in an instant, a spring in his step and giving Yixing a brighter smile than usual as he passed by the register with the thought of seeing Chanyeol.

♢♢♢

At this point, the door of Chanyeol’s apartment was a familiar sight, but what was unfamiliar was the flutter in his heart when it opened to reveal Chanyeol with his bright smile and eyes that looked down at Baekhyun with a glimmer in them.

Baekhyun knew it was because he had admitted it to himself now that yes, he liked Chanyeol, and maybe it was his intention or maybe it wasn’t, but he couldn’t change the fact now. He told himself that was why even though Chanyeol was the same, wearing a tight-fitting black t-shirt that was obnoxiously form-flattering, his tall figure still making him look over Baekhyun and his hair messy on his head and not in its usual pristine style, Baekhyun for some reason couldn’t take his eyes off him.

Baekhyun stood in the doorway of the apartment which hadn’t changed a bit, still as well-kept as possible, and watched Chanyeol walk over to the couch and pick up his phone to look at something before setting it down and turning to look back at him. Baekhyun wanted to memorize the way his eyes lit up and the way his lips turned up in a questioning smile.

“Are you just gonna stand there?” Chanyeol asked him and Baekhyun felt his cheeks heat up as he looked down at himself; he hadn’t even taken his shoes off yet.

His newfound predicament managed to turn Baekhyun extremely awkward compared to their text banter as they sat next to each other on the couch. Chanyeol hadn’t said anything when Baekhyun had sat on the other side of the couch and pulled his knees into his chest, trying to ignore the way his heart was still beating erratically. It was unlogical for him to be affected like this, and Baekhyun was grateful when Chanyeol seemed to notice there was something underlying going on and stayed silent as he turned on the movie. 

Baekhyun looked at the logos at the beginning of the movie with little interest, letting the movie’s audio diffuse the awkward tension.

“Do you want popcorn?” Chanyeol asked as he got up and passed by Baekhyun, taking his fleeting attention from the screen to meet his gaze and nod.

It didn’t take long for him to get immersed in the movie as Freddie Mercury began singing on the TV and he found himself listening. After the harmonizations, Baekhyun couldn’t help but smile and turned to Chanyeol to gauge his reaction, only to see that he had been watching Baekhyun instead of the TV. But this time, Baekhyun didn’t shy away from the flutter in his heart.

“Didn’t I tell you it was good?” Chanyeol said with a knowing smile on his face and Baekhyun giggled.

Chanyeol had sat down at his spot on the couch, carrying the popcorn bowl and beginning to chew on it without handing any to Baekhyun. He had been watching the movie enough not to notice at first, but as Chanyeol began to chew louder, he knew it was meant to catch his attention. Baekhyun stole glances at the popcorn bowl when Chanyeol wasn’t looking, seeing that he had the good microwavable kind, the one that actually looked like movie popcorn. The next time Chanyeol chewed loudly and turned to meet Baekhyun’s eyes, Baekhyun made a huff of annoyance.

“I thought the popcorn was for me,” he whined. Chanyeol smiled again and held up a popcorn kernel for Baekhyun to see.

“Did you want this?” Chanyeol asked and Baekhyun gave him a look. 

“You’re gonna have to cuddle with me to get it,” Chanyeol said and there was still a teasing smile on his face, but there was also something else behind it, like worry that he had pushed too far or asked for too much.

If Baekhyun was honest, the statement wiped his own teasing smile away and he just looked at Chanyeol as he chewed on his lip, a nervous habit. He let his heartbeat settle before he obliged and scooted closer, getting within touching distance of Chanyeol. His arm was slung over the top of the couch and when Baekhyun was close enough, he pulled him in so Baekhyun’s body was flush against the side of Chanyeol’s. Baekhyun sighed as he leaned into his warmth, almost like it was a bodily instinct of his to want to be as close to him as possible. Chanyeol seemed to agree, only pulling him in closer and rubbing his shoulder gently as they continued to watch the movie.

It was much more comfortable like this, Baekhyun realized. The rest of the movie was even better than it was when he had seen it in theaters, with Chanyeol making soft comments in his ear as they watched and having him close to him. It didn’t strike him until later that watching that movie with Chanyeol like that was the most content he had felt in a long time.

He had tried to hide it later when he actually did cry as it was revealed that the main character had AIDS, he swear he had, turning so Chanyeol couldn’t see him and trying to quiet his sniffles but Chanyeol already seemed to be able to read him easily as Baekhyun felt his arm still resting behind him tap on his shoulder and he turned to meet his eyes.

Chanyeol seemed to be closer than he had been when they were just cuddling and the fact that the man was still handsome even up close like this was unfair. Baekhyun felt like a wreck in comparison, trying to look away as embarrassing tears rolled down his cheeks. Chanyeol’s hand lifted to wipe a tear away, his touch so gentle that Baekhyun couldn’t look away, holding his breath.

“You’re pretty even when you cry,” Chanyeol said with awe, a small smile playing on his lips and Baekhyun felt his heart skip a beat. It felt like it was going to beat out of his chest and Baekhyun had already felt how Chanyeol had been so sweet during the entire movie and with that one statement, he felt like his heart was going to burst. He ignored the twinge of fear he felt with how much Chanyeol affected him.

Baekhyun didn’t let Chanyeol react and reached a hand behind his head and pulled him down, meeting his lips in a soft kiss. Neither of them moved at first and Baekhyun just enjoyed the soft touching of their lips together, but then Chanyeol began to kiss him slowly and Baekhyun shifted so he could reach him better, the movie forgotten.

Kissing like this had only happened after their date in the car and Baekhyun had wanted nothing more than to keep kissing him then, so realizing he had that time now made his heart flutter again. Baekhyun smiled into the kiss before he deepened it, gently licking into Chanyeol’s mouth and feeling how Chanyeol’s hand, which had slid into Baekhyun’s hair, gripped his hair a little tighter.

The movie had started showing the concert portion but neither of them were paying attention anymore as Baekhyun pulled their lips away and sat up, swinging a leg over Chanyeol’s lap so he was hovering over it. Chanyeol’s hands slid to his waist and Baekhyun smiled again as he pulled back in for a kiss before Chanyeol began to kiss away from his lips, trailing down his jaw towards his neck and beginning to suck on his skin, making Baekhyun let out a small hum of pleasure.

It surprised Baekhyun that kissing Chanyeol like this was so easy, with the way he didn’t feel rushed at all for things to move faster or escalate further. He was content with the way Chanyeol was taking it slow as well, rubbing his sides comfortingly as he nipped at Baekhyun’s neck, coaxing small noises out of him. Baekhyun knew the man had left a decent mark there when he pulled away and met Baekhyun’s lips again.

Baekhyun could have kissed him for hours just like this, feeling the light buzz of pleasure under his skin on every part of it that Chanyeol had touched. It was when he shifted to scoot in closer that led to pressure on his half-hard cock on his pants as their hips pressed together, making Baekhyun let out a moan in surprise. It hadn’t been intentional but Baekhyun rolled his hips against Chanyeol’s now, enjoying the way that the other man moaned low as well with the pleasure.

Chanyeol tugged on the hem of Baekhyun’s shirt and Baekhyun surprised himself further when he pulled away to nod before chasing Chanyeol’s lips again. The lights were still on and the sounds of the movie were masking their kissing and normally, Baekhyun didn’t like being shirtless in front of other people when he was so exposed. But there was something about the way Chanyeol was holding him after his shirt was discarded on the floor, his hands causing Baekhyun to shiver when they came in contact with his warm skin, that made his worries seem to melt away.

The kiss grew more frantic as Baekhyun’s hips began to pick up, becoming less of a kiss and more of lips simply touching. He was just about to pull away from Chanyeol completely and just hold onto him, content with grinding on him to completion when Chanyeol’s hands held his waist, stopping him. Baekhyun let out a frustrated whine until Chanyeol began to unbutton his jeans and he realized what he was doing, leaning back so Chanyeol could reach it easier.

Chanyeol pulled his dick out of his pants and Baekhyun moaned as he began stroking him dirty and quick, not starting slow at all, clearly with the intention of getting Baekhyun off. There wasn’t much he could do but hold onto Chanyeol as he melted in his arms, shuddering in his orgasm his hands gripping onto Chanyeol’s shoulders and probably causing marks as he dug his fingernails into him as he thrusted into Chanyeol’s hand as he spilled onto both of their shirts.

Baekhyun was still dazed from his orgasm but Chanyeol pulled him in for a deep kiss anyway, Baekhyun eagerly matching his pace as he realized that the other man was rock hard from watching him get off. Baekhyun smiled into the kiss as Chanyeol pulled his hands from his waist to undo his own jeans, pulling himself out and stroking himself to match their kissing, letting out little sighs as they pulled apart to breathe.

Chanyeol pulled away as he got close, his lips red and shining from their kisses as they were parted and he moaned, closing his eyes. Baekhyun didn’t want to take over if he was already almost there and just positioned his lips on Chanyeol’s neck, sucking and kissing the skin to give him a matching mark to the bruise he could still feel Chanyeol’s lips lingering on on his own neck.

It seemed to do the trick when Chanyeol looked up and groaned, coming over his hand and stroking himself through the aftershocks as Baekhyun continued to kiss his neck and run his hands down his arms to calm him down as nothing but their breathing filled the room, the movie long over.

Baekhyun left one last soft kiss over the hickey forming on Chanyeol’s neck, and looked up to see Chanyeol, giving him a small smile. He reached down and picked up Chanyeol’s hand that was covered in probably both of their cum and kissed the knuckles gently, licking up the remains of both of them and relishing in the attention Chanyeol gave him, watching him with dark eyes. He pulled him in for another kiss, much less frantic and more matching of the way they had started out with, now that they had gotten their release.

“We didn’t finish the movie,” Chanyeol pulled away and said quietly, his low voice barely above a whisper and with a soft husky tone that made Baekhyun weak in the knees. He smiled and leaned into another chaste kiss, the sound of their lips pulling apart loud in his ears.

“Guess we didn’t,” Baekhyun teased. When he opened his eyes, Chanyeol was looking at him with something in his eyes that made Baekhyun’s heart skip a beat in his chest. He couldn’t remember the last time he was looked at like that, with such obvious admiration, and he didn’t want to overthink it, letting the fear in his veins pass as he just leaned in for another kiss.

Chanyeol’s lips weren’t the softest Baekhyun had ever kissed, but he had never felt like kissing could be this easy and comfortable. The insecurities that usually whirled around his head on a seemingly constant basis seemed to melt away as he didn’t worry about where his hands were or how he was kissing, and just wanted to feel all of Chanyeol.

Even when they pulled away eventually, finally deciding they should probably change, Chanyeol gave him the sweetest smile that was impossible to return, a comfortable silence filling the space between them. Baekhyun got off of his lap and stretched once he stood up, his legs stiff from his position. He had been too preoccupied kissing Chanyeol to feel the discomfort and grimaced as his knees protested to the stretches. Chanyeol reached out for his hand and Baekhyun let him take his, leading him gently to their bedroom.

Chanyeol handed Baekhyun even more clothes for him to borrow, making Baekhyun realize that he was starting to form a collection of Chanyeol’s clothes as he stepped into the bathroom to change. He couldn’t complain though, not when the black hoodie and sweatpants he had been lended were so oversized and comfortable, and smelled so much like Chanyeol.

He stepped back out to the bedroom to let Chanyeol go into the bathroom and realized just how tired he was, sitting down on the bed and laying down, sinking into it and sighing. His eyelids fluttered shut as he listened to the sound of running water start in the bathroom from Chanyeol taking a shower. He let his thoughts drift until he was so close to dreaming that he didn’t hear the water turn off or the door open, only stirring when Chanyeol laid down in the bed next to him, shifting the bed with his weight. 

Baekhyun opened his eyes to see the man laying next to him, their faces close enough for him to blush normally if he wasn’t so tired. Chanyeol from this distance was still beautiful, his eyes looking fondly into Baekhyun’s own and a small smile on his lips when Baekhyun blinked at him a few times, trying to keep his eyes open in his stupor. His hair was messy against the pillow, a mess of curls that seemed to be mostly dry, though Baekhyun must have been really sleepy to also miss the sounds of the dryer in the bathroom. The curls made Chanyeol look younger though and when Baekhyun reached out to run his fingers through it curiously, Chanyeol smiled more and closed his eyes, taking in Baekhyun’s touch. Baekhyun felt his heart flutter at Chanyeol’s expression, so taken by how effortlessly _beautiful_ he was, and honestly, Baekhyun had created such a mess for himself.

Though Baekhyun had been the one to initially be tired, he found himself humming lightly as he ran his fingers through Chanyeol’s hair more, the other man pulling him in with one arm around his waist so his face fit into the crook of Chanyeol’s exposed neck and he was breathing in his scent. Baekhyun sighed as he leaned into Chanyeol’s warm skin, the other man having laid down after his shower shirtless, and listened to Chanyeol’s breathing under his humming, noticing when it evened out that he must have slept.

Baekhyun didn’t realize when he started doing it, but a picture of how they looked right now had rooted itself in his mind, as he couldn’t think of a moment he wanted to capture better. Laying with Chanyeol like this felt safe, felt okay, and he wanted to be able to hold onto just one moment of stable safety for the moments when his brain ran ahead of itself. Baekhyun’s hand moved from Chanyeol’s hair down towards his chest and collarbone, running his fingertips over the skin gently. Chanyeol’s skin was so smooth and nice under his touch that Baekhyun laid in the dark, watching the outline of his hand move against Chanyeol’s skin as he traced out the outline of what he imagined their intertwined bodies laying here to be, the picture he had created in his mind burning behind his eyelids every time he blinked. 

“What are you doing?” Chanyeol asked, his chest humming under Baekhyun’s touch and his voice soft and low. Baekhyun didn’t realize he was awake but feeling Chanyeol’s voice in his chest was nice and he leaned closer to his skin unconsciously as he felt a press of lips on the top of his head from Chanyeol. 

It occurred to Baekhyun there somewhere in the back of his mind that brought up the typically panicked thoughts that what they were doing right now was so incredibly domestic.. All they had done before was either speak as strictly friends or have sex, but they had never established feelings or entered the strange in between part of the two actions that veered a little closer to a sort of relationship or commitment. This cuddling they had done all night seemed to cross some invisible line, but where he would usually find himself sinking back into himself, he realized Chanyeol made him feel safe enough that this was okay. There wasn’t any pressure on Baekhyun to commit to anything, and he didn’t feel anything but content in Chanyeol’s arms.

It was probably this sweet realization, feeling like something of a victory to himself over some part of his being that had cracked ever since Jongin died, that made him speak so honestly for once.

“I’m drawing us,” Baekhyun whispered and smiled when he felt Chanyeol let out a short huff of a chuckle and his chest moved against Baekhyun’s head. Baekhyun was leaning against him perfectly to hear his heartbeat and he tried not to read too much into the way it was beating for fear of ruining the moment with any assumptions about feelings.

“Do you remember the sketchbook you mentioned to me about the Vermeer paintings?” Chanyeol spoke and Baekhyun was a little astonished, nodding before he realized he was below Chanyeol’s line of sight and it was dark and said a short yes. He hadn’t realized Chanyeol would remember details of what they spoke about from a conversation in a cafe that seemed so long ago.

It really hadn’t been that long ago anyway. Only a month ago had been when Baekhyun had first met Chanyeol, but here he was, finding that he couldn’t remember how he had gotten through the exhausting day-by-day of his usual life without him.

“You don’t have to show it to me or anything. But I wouldn’t mind seeing you draw again,” Chanyeol said and Baekhyun pulled his fingers off of Chanyeol’s skin, having just finished drawing the invisible outline against Chanyeol’s collarbone of Chanyeol’s arm that was currently rubbing Baekhyun’s waist.

There was another silence, but with his ear pressed against his chest, he could hear Chanyeol’s heartbeat, making his own sound loud in his own ears. The night outside the bedroom window was still and Baekhyun had never felt more like he was living in a perfect bubble. The idea of work with Yixing or a museum heist could be worlds away as long as he could stay right here with Chanyeol.

“We should go to sleep,” Chanyeol muttered one last time into the silence, sounding like he was already close to drifting off himself. Baekhyun smiled at the drowsily slurred words and nodded once more, not concerning himself this time with the fact that Chanyeol couldn’t see it. Chanyeol’s arm around him had gone limp as he fell asleep and Baekhyun turned his head, pressing a small kiss on Chanyeol’s soft skin as a good night.

For the first time in a long time, he fell asleep with a smile on his face.

♢♢♢

Baekhyun spent more and more time in the small bookstore coffee shop after shifts to focus on both homework for classes and to focus more on the museum gala. The date was fast approaching now, with only weeks to go. Baekhyun’s folder back at home under his desk was filling more as he watched more details come into Kris and Chanyeol’s emails. His research on the security was becoming more in depth with these details, and he was almost completely confident on his ability to run through the situation without being caught. The specifics on actually preparing the systems beforehand had to be done slowly, with a little bit of finessing in order to not raise suspicion as he moved into Kris’s account after museum hours and shifted cameras around remotely, programming them as well for his task.

But even these moments at the bookstore, surrounded by the usually calm ambience of coffee smells and shelves of books not far away were riddled with distraction in the form of texts from Chanyeol. Baekhyun found himself smiling at his phone much more than usual, his cheeks hurting from the action during particularly funny conversations. They’d sent pictures back and forth too, Baekhyun smiling at the silly selfies Chanyeol took with his bright smile with Kris looking unamused in the background. He’d send back his own pictures, pouting at the camera and feeling nervous sending them, which was such a normal relationship action that he had never thought he’d experience.

Chanyeol had joined him one day after texting Baekhyun about stressful meetings and when the latter hadn’t brought any encrypting information in his work bag, and seeing Chanyeol in the same little store felt like bringing him into a bubble of his world that he hadn’t let anyone enter before. He hadn’t really let anyone enter his world before, but here Chanyeol was, sitting in the seat across from him at the coffee table with his laptop open as well, responding to emails and smiling at Baekhyun when their eyes met above their respective screens again. Baekhyun tried to forget about the fact that he would probably check Chanyeol’s emails too when he got home later that night too.

“How come you won’t let me into your own place? How many secrets do you have hidden there?” Chanyeol had asked teasingly as the coffee shop emptied out, closing time looming closer. Their laptops had been stored long before in favor of sipping drinks and holding hands on the table. 

Baekhyun heard the tease in his voice but tried not to tense under Chanyeol’s touch as the man rubbed fiddled with their intertwined fingers between them. The image of the folder filled with security system information and confidential emails hiding under his desk had rooted itself to the forefront of Baekhyun’s brain and it was illogical, but he was worried the truth was written all over his eyes. He looked down to watch their hands and hesitated too long to speak.

“Hey, it’s alright, I don’t have to go there,” Chanyeol answered quietly, seeming to sense that he’d struck a nerve. “I don’t care if it’s small or messy. I don’t like you for your place, I like you.”

Baekhyun looked up to see Chanyeol with an encouraging smile, his lips hiding his teeth but no hint of insincerity in his eyes. Baekhyun found himself just melting under the man’s gaze, and realized just how far he’d fallen for him listening to his concern. It was true that Baekhyun’s place was small and messy and all he could afford with his current situation, but the idea that Chanyeol thought he was worried about that instead of the big ugly truth proved that he was just too good for him.

But Baekhyun had always been just a little selfish. Meeting Chanyeol, who had made him feel like a semblance of who he thought he could’ve been without his ugly past, was definitely not the exception.

It was days later that he realized he had gotten himself into a committed relationship without ever saying anything. Maybe the lack of communication wasn’t the greatest idea, but Baekhyun couldn’t deny that his initial realization that night after watching the movie together, that they were perhaps in uncharted territory now was only proven in the weeks that followed.

If Baekhyun had been worried before that texting was too attached, it was nothing compared to this. Baekhyun found himself spending more than just that one night at Chanyeol’s apartment. He had found himself craving more and more of Chanyeol’s kisses and the way he held Baekhyun with so much care even when he was fucking him into the mattress. His laptop had migrated back and forth in his backpack from Chanyeol’s apartment to his own more than a couple of times, and he learned to keep spare clothes in his bag as well. Chanyeol drove him to the mall early on some days when he had been invited over to stay the night, ordering coffee for him in the morning even though Baekhyun protested. The nights he fell asleep after Chanyeol had had him blissed out in his arms and the mornings he woke up to a lazy kiss or two before forcing himself out of bed were much better than the ones he found himself lying in an empty bed in his own apartment.

It only struck him how domestic the small moments all felt on one of these particular mornings as he sat in Chanyeol’s car’s passenger seat, watching the busy streets outside in the rush and sighing contentedly. He sipped on his coffee and turned to give Chanyeol a smile as they stopped outside the mall.

“I’ll text you later,” Chanyeol said and Baekhyun gave him a nod as he unbuckled his seatbelt. He had barely moved to open the car door before Chanyeol grabbed at his sleeve and pulled him in, Baekhyun turning to look at him just as Chanyeol pressed a kiss to his lips, a cheeky reminder of the way he had kissed Baekhyun the night before. Baekhyun broke away as his mind processed the realization a few moments later that they were in a car, his brain slow to function with how Chanyeol’s lips felt against his own, scoffing as Chanyeol smirked. 

“Let me go, you’re blocking the other cars,” Baekhyun whined, even though the way Chanyeol seemed to only have eyes for him was endearing. Baekhyun had to actively tear his eyes away from the man to open the door and step out, carrying his bag out with him. 

He crossed the street quickly to the sidewalk right outside the mall entrance before he heard a car honk and whirled around, Chanyeol having rolled the window down and smiling at him. The man blew a kiss at him before Baekhyun could yell at him to go to work and Baekhyun made a show of pretending to catch it, not able to keep the smile off his face as he opened the door into the mall, walking through the department store feeling lighter than he had in a long time.

It wasn’t until Baekhyun entered the employee area when he heard the familiar ding of his phone. He should’ve been embarrassed about how fast he moved to check it, but he was shameless enough not to be.

[7:59 AM] Chanyeol: I wanna do something different tonight. I’m picking you up from your place at 8 tonight.

Baekhyun already felt his mind buzzing with questions, feeling the excited fluttering in his heart as he began typing a response, interrupted by Irene banging on the door.

“Baekhyun!” she called and Baekhyun swore, sighing as he opened the door and gave her a nod, ignoring the death look she was giving him as he headed to the cashier’s desk. He pocketed his phone and took a large amount of self control to not check it as it buzzed again. 

Yixing raised an eyebrow at him and Baekhyun looked away as a smile played at his lips, letting thoughts of Chanyeol fill his head again as the doors to the store opened for the day.

He just needed to get through his shift. Then tonight, he’d be all Chanyeol’s.

♢♢♢

The car is sat outside his apartment building just like he had accepted and Baekhyun feels a little nervous flutter in his heart. He didn’t know where they were going and just dressed in jeans and a buttoned top, trying to go for something casual. Chanyeol hadn’t given him any hints despite his whining over text earlier. Baekhyun had never been good with surprises.

He walks down the flight of stairs and approaches the car, hearing the lock click inside and opens the door. He can’t hide the fact that he’s excited and goes to smile at Chanyeol but his face falls when he sees his expression.

Chanyeol has his elbow resting on the side of the car door and his hand in his head, as if exasperated. Baekhyun can tell something’s wrong and freezes before stepping in gingerly and closes the door. Chanyeol doesn’t move and Baekhyun just looks down at the dashboard, zoning out into his thoughts as the awkward silence settles over.

The thought hits him that maybe Chanyeol knows. Maybe when Baekhyun had snuck into his office again last week to disable the connection between their computers, he hadn’t done it well enough and now he was caught. Chanyeol was going to turn him in now. He panics and reaches for the car door, wanting to jump out as his thoughts get the better of him, but he feels Chanyeol grasp onto his sleeve, stopping him from moving.

“I’m sorry,” Chanyeol says quietly and Baekhyun turns to look at him. Baekhyun sees the true apology in his eyes and relaxes, letting his hand fall off of the car handle and shifting to look at him. He hesitates but sees how Chanyeol relaxes as well now that Baekhyun isn’t a flight risk and Baekhyun leans in to give him a chaste kiss. It has the desired effect, as Chanyeol relaxes further into it and reaches a hand into Baekhyun’s hair, his fingers tangling just the way that Baekhyun likes and he sighs into Chanyeol’s mouth.

They pull away but don’t pull apart, and Chanyeol presses his forehead against Baekhyun’s own.

“It was just a hard day at work. I’m sorry I’m picking you up like this,” Chanyeol says and Baekhyun calms his still racing heart, his fear at being caught from earlier still pumping adrenaline into his veins, to the point that Baekhyun is worried Chanyeol can hear it. He kisses Chanyeol again, a quick peck before he sits back into his chair.

“Don’t worry about it,” Baekhyun says. “I want you to forget about it for tonight. Work will be there again in the morning.”

It was something he repeated to himself often over the past years when classes were starting to get hectic during heavy seasons at work, like around the holidays, just a simple saying that had worked to ground him. It seemed to do the same with Chanyeol now as he sighed and stared at Baekhyun, his expression softening and the same strong look in his eyes that made Baekhyun want to look away before he analyzed the meaning behind it. Chanyeol reached down and took his hand gently, intertwining their fingers and staring at them with a soft gaze.

“You’re too good for me, you know that?” Chanyeol said and Baekhyun smiled, even though he was certain it was quite the opposite.

Within moments they were on the road, and it was already different than before. Chanyeol fiddled with the radio, letting music play and fill their ears instead of the road noises. Baekhyun looked at him with a raised eyebrow, his heart skipping a beat at the small amused smile on Chanyeol’s lips.

“Queen, really?” Baekhyun teased and Chanyeol chuckled once. Baekhyun looked at the street and saw they were at a red light and turned, leaning over and giving Chanyeol a peck and enjoying his slightly stunned expression.

“You liked Bohemian Rhapsody too much,” Baekhyun teased, but there was nothing other than adoration in his voice.

The car ride went much like that, where Chanyeol would beg for a kiss at red lights and would sing along with the radio. Baekhyun joined in too and blushed when Chanyeol complimented his voice. They were out of the city soon, on an open highway that stretched out far ahead of them, the signs of the city starting to fade and soon enough it was only land surrounding them and a few cars on the street along with them. Baekhyun was too busy singing and staring at Chanyeol to notice the time ticking by on the little glowing clock next to the car’s stereo.

Chanyeol took an exit when Baekhyun had started to feel his eyes grow a little heavier with tiredness and he perked up, wondering where they had going. Chanyeol had refused to answer even his real-life whining, even when Baekhyun threatened to tickle him, causing Chanyeol to panic because _oh my god, Baek, I’m driving_.

Chanyeol drove off the paved path onto a little side gravel road and Baekhyun looked at him curiously, not seeing how this could be anything special. He turned to stare at Chanyeol and knew he could feel his stare directed at him as he watched him regrip the wheel, looking stubbornly forward. Baekhyun was about to open his mouth when he was cut off by the sound of the car engine turning off. They couldn’t be here already, could they? There weren’t even any buildings around here. 

He looked forward out the front window and gasped at the view that met his eyes.

They were on the edge of a cliff, parked behind a small fence and looking out over the land in front of them. They had driven far enough away that they could see the entirety of the city spreading out below them, and though it was a large city, Baekhyun could still see the highways snaking out of it and the amount of simple barren land surrounding. The night sky made the city seem even more like a little oasis of light in the middle of nothing as the city lights gleamed against the land, darkened by the absence of sunlight. It felt like a scene straight out of a cheesy film, but seeing it with his own eyes was enough to take his breath away.

Baekhyun had missed when Chanyeol had opened the door and stepped out and was only torn away from the view by his own car door opening, seeing Chanyeol holding it open for him and with a smile. Baekhyun unbuckled his seatbelt, a little embarrassed at how shocked the view had left him and stepped out. There weren’t any other cars around and it struck Baekhyun then that they were alone. They had been alone before, in the comfort of Chanyeol’s apartment, on his couch watching movies or in his bed letting him take Baekhyun apart, and Baekhyun had felt like there was a whole other world for him, filled with happiness and Chanyeol during then. But the solitude of the cliff, with the city under them truly felt like another world - one that he and Chanyeol could take on together, high above it.

The emotions in his chest made it feel like his heart was growing, beating with so much adoration for the man in front of him that Baekhyun was feeling overwhelmed and tried to swallow it down, knowing that this was something he could deal with later. He couldn’t stop himself however, from throwing his arms around Chanyeol’s neck and leaning up onto his toes to pull him down for a kiss, trying to convey how thankful he was in that one kiss. Baekhyun had never been good with words, with his unloved upbringing, the harsh social hierarchy of the gang where emotions were a weakness, and with a language barrier since he came here years ago, but he knew how actions worked. And he was certain that Chanyeol could feel it too as he dropped something and wrapped his arms around Baekhyun, pulling him in and kissing him deeply, and Baekhyun felt safe pressed up against Chanyeol’s body like this as he kissed him with all the feelings he couldn’t word or realize yet.

They pulled apart a second later, panting and Baekhyun sank down to his feet, looking up at Chanyeol with their height difference. He let out a small laugh and Chanyeol did too, knowing that both of them could still feel the surge of electricity in their skin from the kiss. Baekhyun didn’t really want to let go of Chanyeol yet (frankly, he didn’t want to let go of him ever), but he did, bending down to pick up what Chanyeol dropped. He lifted up the picnic basket and handed it to Chanyeol, smiling as he realized his plan. 

They walked right up to the fence and ducked under it, a good ten feet between it and the cliff’s edge. Baekhyun sat down after Chanyeol laid out the blanket and took the picnic basket from him, setting it down and beginning to open it. Chanyeol had sat down next to it as Baekhyun pulled out the sandwiches he could tell Chanyeol had made and wrapped, almost cooing as his heart melted at the effort the man had put into this. Chips and water came out of the bag next and he set them on the blanket, separating them out so they each had one of each item. Baekhyun began to hum under his breath as he picked at the sandwich wrapper and opened it up before he realized Chanyeol hadn’t moved for the food in between them. He looked up at Chanyeol and his hands immediately stopped working to open the sandwich.

Chanyeol was sitting opposite him, his knees against his chest in the same way Baekhyun did when he wanted to look small, but it almost looked comical on Chanyeol with how tall he was. He was wearing a hoodie too large on him, another feat with his height, sweatpants and a baseball cap, and it was such a comfy outfit that he looked irresistible to cuddle. But what stopped Baekhyun in his tracks was the way he was looking at him, not unlike ways he had watched Baekhyun before but at the same time entirely different. His eyes were soft and he had a small smile as he watched Baekhyun, and he looked so relaxed that Baekhyun looked down. He knew the way Chanyeol was looking at him, like there was nothing that would make him more content than this moment right then and Baekhyun didn’t quite know how to deal with it.

“What is it?” Baekhyun looked at him again and Chanyeol hadn’t moved, but the smile grew bigger. Baekhyun met his eyes and in the moonlight he could see what was going through Chanyeol’s mind and he felt conflicted, not knowing what he wanted to do or how to react. He set the sandwich down and fiddled with his fingers, nervous.

“It’s nothing,” Chanyeol answered, in a way that was both nonchalant and a blatant lie. Baekhyun turned to him and Chanyeol didn’t seem conflicted in the way Baekhyun was, just happy to keep looking at him, his eyes flicking from Baekhyun’s eyes to his mouth and the way he licked his lips made Baekhyun absentmindedly do the same.

Chanyeol leaned forward and cupped Baekhyun’s face lightly with one hand, pulling him in for a sweet kiss. Baekhyun felt himself gasp into the kiss, with how tenderly Chanyeol kissed him, gentle as if Baekhyun was precious. He felt what he was scared of in that kiss, the one emotion he had wanted to avoid. Baekhyun knew he was a monster for how he was using Chanyeol, how he was lying to him, but he couldn’t deny how his heart raced as Chanyeol kissed him, knowing the truth even if Chanyeol hadn’t said it.

“I just really like you,” Chanyeol whispered as they pulled apart, faces still close as his eyes searched Baekhyun’s face for a response. He was still dumbfounded by the kiss, having had two in the past five minutes that were filled with more emotions than he had let himself feel in a long time. Chanyeol was dangerous to him, like a drug that made him much more reckless than he let himself be otherwise. Looking at Chanyeol now, though, the moonlight only seemed to outline Baekhyun’s own thoughts and not even all the light in the world could be as bright as the one he had become in Baekhyun’s life.

Baekhyun couldn’t bring himself to respond and just leaned in for another kiss, this one calmer and chaste, a simple press of lips before he pulled away and looked down at his sandwich. His heart was still buzzing and his whole body felt on fire as he stared down at his food. He heard Chanyeol tear into the packaging of his own food but found that even though he hadn’t eaten for many hours now, his appetite had gone away curiously enough.

Baekhyun didn’t eat much but he let Chanyeol’s chatter filter into his brain and found himself responding soon enough. At one point he stopped listening so much to the words and more to the sound of Chanyeol’s voice, deep and filled with character as he spoke, matching the conversation. He found that Chanyeol’s voice was beautiful, only second to the sound of his laugh under the night sky, loud almost to the point of being obnoxious, but Baekhyun found it didn’t bother him at all. He watched the way he moved as he spoke, and Chanyeol wasn’t graceful, but Baekhyun saw that every one of his movements fascinated him, from the way he moved his hands as he talked to the way that he was somehow endearing as he ate, looking out at the city view besides them. Every part of Chanyeol was beautiful to him, and Baekhyun knew he had fallen way too deep for the man in front of him, staying mostly quiet and just letting him talk, less worried about what to say and just letting himself react naturally. Chanyeol was safe, something he had never felt with another in a long time.

And to think that in a few weeks’ time, he would have to give it all up.

He hated Kyungsoo. Baekhyun hated Kyungsoo more than anything as he sat on that cliff and thought about how his world had turned upside down by this last mission. He found himself wishing that he had never come to him for a favor, that Minseok had never caught him being so careless as to find a way to get back at Baekhyun, even wishing that Kyungsoo had never met Jongdae. But at the same time he was thankful. If it hadn’t been for Kyungsoo, he might have never found Chanyeol.

He knew that right here, he was with Chanyeol on borrowed time. The second he had met Chanyeol, they had been doomed to part, but Baekhyun found that even though his heart was starting to crack with the prospect of losing the man in front of him, he wouldn’t give up anything for it. A few months with Chanyeol was better than a life without having ever met him. The thoughts were terrifying but Baekhyun knew they rang the most true out of any he’d had in his life.

So when they found themselves back in the backseat of Chanyeol’s car and Baekhyun kissed him, he kissed him with all the feelings he dare show, rubbed his hands down every inch of skin on his body, wanting to feel and drink in every part of Chanyeol. He admired every beautiful noise he could coax out of Chanyeol’s lips as he kissed him slowly, grinded on him slowly. He wanted to give Chanyeol the best he could because he knew on this cliffside he had more confidence in his feelings than he ever had at home. He wanted to give Chanyeol his entire being before he never would be able to again.

He sighed as he drank in every whimper that fell from Chanyeol’s lips as he took him apart slowly, his fingers inside him and smiled as he kissed him as he groaned when he finally sank deep inside him. He kissed Chanyeol through every slow thrust, obeying his every plea of going faster or harder and moaned when Chanyeol reached for his hair and pulled on it hard as he came, melting into Baekhyun’s arms as he fucked him through it.

Baekhyun tried to ignore how overwhelmed he felt as he kissed him afterwards, the taste of salt from sweat on Chanyeol’s skin and how beautiful he looked with his cheeks red and lips parted from panting. Chanyeol smiled as he kissed him and Baekhyun swallowed the lump in his throat, feeling like his heart was bleeding in his chest. 

It wasn’t comfortable to lay in the driver’s seat of Chanyeol’s car like this, a mess of limbs trying to squeeze into a small space. Baekhyun found that he didn’t mind it, however, as his heart continued to beat too loud in his chest and he ran his hands through Chanyeol’s hair, not minding that it was still a little damp from sweat. They were sweaty and sticky from sex, but Baekhyun couldn’t think of anything but the way that Chanyeol couldn’t be described as anything other than an angel with the way he was glowing under the moonlight.

Baekhyun didn’t let the first tear fall onto his cheek until Chanyeol’s breathing had long evened out, falling asleep in Baekhyun’s arms and pressing himself closer into Baekhyun unconsciously. He couldn’t believe he’d let this happen; thought he was ever naive enough that he thought he could meet Chanyeol and use him like this. Though the man was still right here in his arms and Baekhyun was holding onto him as tightly as he dared without waking him, he knew it was inevitable.

Soon, he’d have to let Chanyeol go.

He let himself cry finally, something he hadn’t done in a while. His sobs were silent as Chanyeol slept next to him and finally, Baekhyun found his own fitful sleep as well.

♢♢♢

_Baekhyun remembered when he’d met Jongin._

_The day that the boy had wormed his way into Baekhyun’s life, sauntering in with his brand new Wolves jacket and arrogant persona, not unlike Baekhyun’s own._

_Kyungsoo had told him that the new kid had come from Nice, working as their connections outside of Paris, before he got transferred. With the way Baekhyun watched him smile, it could’ve been mistaken that he’d been promoted to Kyungsoo’s position instead._

_“Do I really have to do this heist with him?” Baekhyun whined one final time to Kyungsoo. The underground exit of their headquarters was only used to get out undetected. It was a month after his transfer but Baekhyun hadn’t seen any reason to treat him as another runt of their gang, another kid who was below Baekhyun in skill, not anywhere close to dethroning him as the favorite of their leader. Jongin was just one of the more annoying runts._

_“This is a private auction with a bunch of rich assholes. You might do the dirty work, but they’ve got the unfortunately decent security. He can deal with it,” Kyungsoo responded with the same unimpressed expression he always wore when Baekhyun tried to whine at him. It hadn’t worked ever, but Baekhyun wouldn’t be one to go down without trying._

_“Just get in, get the jewels, and get out,” Kyungsoo ordered, shoving the gear pack into Baekhyun’s arms. Baekhyun, ever the cocky bastard, tsked at him before opening it and sliding a knife into his boot, a gun in his holster, and slinging the rest of the pack over his back._

_Baekhyun gave him the mocking salute before he opened the door and disappeared into the Paris tunnel, a network he knew better than the back of his own hand._

_The auction was just another successful heist for him, another notch in his already impressive belt of thievery. It would have been a normal night if he hadn’t let Jongin drag him into the alleyway after, holding the necklace of diamonds in front of his face teasingly as the police sirens continued to go off in the background from the cops that had been in hot pursuit only moments ago._

_Baekhyun had thought he was the king of spontaneity, the shoo-in for an heir to Kyungsoo if only for his annoying ability to survive and never get caught. But he hadn’t met Jongin, who seemed to be a burning flame in the embers of Baekhyun’s own attitude. Jongin made him feel electrified and alive, finding a new meaning in the nasty business he had fallen into._

_As he watched Jongin laugh out loud in the alleyway, Baekhyun had felt his heart beating out of his chest and thought that his unfortunate purpose of thievery hadn’t really been fulfilled until he met the boy next to him._

_He found himself laughing too, and it felt like the first genuine time in his life._

♢♢♢

The dream filled Baekhyun’s head as he opened the car door and stepped out, trying not to wake Chanyeol.

He ignored the way his vision was blurring as he closed it behind him and was left in silence other than the sounds of the night. He was alone now, which was always the best place to be when his dreams decided to break his heart over Jongin all over again.

The first tears fell as he climbed up on the hood of the car, stretching his legs out and looking at the city. It reminded him too much of when they would climb up to the roof of the Louvre after that first time, watching the city bustle underneath when they needed to get away. Baekhyun sighed and dropped his gaze, watching a tear roll off his cheek and drip onto the hood, the stain it left seeming to mock him.

He heard the car door open behind him and gasped, turning to see Chanyeol poke his head out, rubbing at his half-opened eyes and clearly just having awaken. Even though the dream has dropped him into that sad place where he wanted to be rid of his thoughts and just sleep forever, the sight of Chanyeol was so endearing that he couldn’t help a small smile. 

It disappeared quickly when he remembered how pathetic he must look, coming out on the hood of the car in the middle of the night with what could only be tear stains on his cheeks and he groaned, sniffling as he wiped his eyes quickly. Chanyeol saw anyway and Baekhyun missed the way his expression changed, wide awake with the prospect of an unhappy Baekhyun in front of him.

Baekhyun looked away ashamed as Chanyeol stepped out of the car and climbed up next to him. He scooted over, too embarrassed to let Chanyeol sit too close to him even though his heart wanted nothing more than to be pressed up against his body again. Thinking of Jongin had made the guilt in his mind come raging to the forefront again, and he couldn’t stand how worthless he felt, the image of Jongin’s body crumpling to the ground every time he blinked. He was thankful that at the very least, Chanyeol seemed to recognize that and didn’t move in closer to Baekhyun, sighing and sitting quietly next to him.

They sat there for a few moments, with Baekhyun’s head filled with thoughts of Jongin. His dreams had a nasty habit of reminding him of just how much he’d lost, so memories flooded back and he felt like he was drowning. It was like that now and no matter how much he was trying to hold onto his dignity, the images flashing through his head were too much for him and he felt his resolve crumble, the tears beginning to fall.

He looked down, never having felt more pathetic as he let out a small sob and felt Chanyeol’s eyes on him. Baekhyun had the smallest bit of self-control left to not run away, sitting there and staring at the hood of the car as the tears kept falling.

Chanyeol still hadn’t moved but after a few seconds of what must have been internal struggle, he reached out and placed a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder. Baekhyun didn’t think before he reacted, flinching at the touch and moving away, the memories of Jongin making him feel too worthless to accept comfort. 

_That’s it, then. He has to be leaving_ , Baekhyun realized as Chanyeol pulled his hand away and cleared his throat. He was probably regretting taking Baekhyun on this night out, with how he was crying now and not even letting Chanyeol touch him. How could he be so stupid? Baekhyun panicked with the prospect of Chanyeol leaving, even though he had done everything in his power last night to make peace with that inevitable. 

“My best friend died in Paris,” Baekhyun choked out, his own words surprising him, both at the fact that he said anything and at what pure sorrow he felt at saying the words out loud. It was like a fountain had opened up in him, the first words having been the hardest to get out with the rest flowing easily.

“We got involved in stupid shit. He was shot and killed,” Baekhyun said. Chanyeol had froze besides him, obviously not expecting that. He stayed quiet however, the only sound being the wind passing by them as a low whistle and causing a shiver to go down Baekhyun’s spine.

“Can you tell me about him?” Chanyeol said after a minute and Baekhyun looked at him in surprise. He had just told Chanyeol something so heavy, how was he not running away? If anything, the man besides him had turned to face him more, and his expression was encouraging him to speak.

Baekhyun cleared his throat, flustered, not knowing what to think. The memories that were flowing of Jongin in his brain were still passing through his head too fast and he couldn’t think of what he could tell Chanyeol. 

“Well,” Baekhyun started and sniffled before he let out a small broken laugh. He’d never spoken of Jongin out loud before, for all the years he’d been gone.

“We used to go to the Louvre a lot. He sat besides me while I sketched all my paintings,” Baekhyun said tentatively, glancing up at Chanyeol again. He couldn’t help the flutter in his heart at how amazing Chanyeol had to be to sit here and listen.

“I still have sketches of him too, in that sketchbook in my apartment,” Baekhyun recalled, thinking of a few that came to mind. He remembered one of the nights Jongin had snuck him away and they had passed by an outdoor market in one of the residential parts of Paris, a nicer area that felt like a cozy home Baekhyun could have had if he didn’t grow up an orphan.

After walking around and speaking to the different vendors, sweet people that Baekhyun would have paid no mind to otherwise, he had realized how important Jongin had become to him in between looking at handmade jewelry and buying a pastry from a small shop.

“Let me sketch you,” Baekhyun had blurted out as he watched Jongin burst into laughter again at a joke he had made. Jongin had looked at him with a curious smile and Baekhyun could still remember how his eyes were full of life and wild energy, as if their jobs couldn’t cause a dent in his spirit even if it had worn Baekhyun down to the core.

“I’m not a painting, Baek,” Jongin had teased but watched as Baekhyun had pulled out his sketchbook and pencils and the smile had dropped on his face as he watched Jongin, who turned to watch the people make their way around the plaza.

Current Baekhyun felt the urge to cry leave as he looked out at the city below them, definitely not Paris, but his mind across the ocean in that fateful city anyway. He remembered that sketch; he remembered how his younger self had been so thankful and pleased to have found someone he could waste nights with away from the horrors of their day to day and how it had bled into his drawing, into the way he stroked the lines of Jongin’s face and the coloring he had used later that night when they made it back home.

To others, it may just be a quick sketch, but to Baekhyun, it still felt like the only souvenir of a home he had ever found in Europe.

He didn’t realize it, but soon enough Baekhyun was speaking more about Jongin to Chanyeol, the words and memories something he had thought he’d keep to his grave finally out in the air. It took more than a little bit before he opened up, laughing more freely as he recalled as much as he could without revealing their illegal business to Chanyeol and feeling his tear stains dry in the wind.

Chanyeol had laughed along with him and Baekhyun couldn’t remember feeling this okay after a dream about Jongin ever. It wasn’t until Chanyeol reached over to grab Baekhyun’s hand that the moment was broken as Baekhyun stopped mid-sentence and pulled away again and he felt his mood wilt.

There was another moment where Baekhyun felt like he had to do something, not willing to let his resolve go when he had finally felt alright with Jongin’s passing for the first time he could remember.

“The day he died,” Baekhyun started gingerly. 

“I saw the guy hold up his gun. So I called out to him, trying to warn him, and he turned around and that’s when it happened,” Baekhyun explained and the words felt harder to get out with each passing moment. Chanyeol scooted in but stayed careful not to touch him. Recalling the memory made him relive it in his mind and he tried to squeeze his eyes shut, willing the memory away to no avail.

“If I hadn’t said anything, maybe he wouldn’t have-” Baekhyun began, his voice breaking, but he was cut off by Chanyeol, widening his eyes as the other man spoke for the first time in a while, having just listened before then.

“Listen to me,” Chanyeol spoke, his voice so serious that Baekhyun watched him and could see Chanyeol’s own eyes turn watery as he searched Baekhyun’s face.

“It’s not your fault. I know you feel like it is, but it’s not your fault. Someone else pulled the trigger and killed him, not you. You did nothing but love him the whole time and nothing you did ever led to him dying,” Chanyeol spoke, his words careful but also spoken as if they were so important that Baekhyun felt each one stab him in the heart.

“It’s not your fault,” Chanyeol repeated after a few more seconds and that’s all it took for Baekhyun to crumble.

He let out a sob and suddenly he felt as if his whole being was weeping, leaning in and pressing himself to Chanyeol, feeling like the arms around him and the kisses pressed to his head were the only thing keeping him grounded in the terrible sadness that wracked his body. Chanyeol was humming into his hair softly as he pressed kisses there and Baekhyun cried more, cried until he felt like every bit of sadness that was in him for Jongin left in the form of tears and he felt only numb.

In all the years since, the idea had never come to him that maybe it wasn’t his doing. This entire time he had remembered those terrible few seconds, the way he had cried out and the sound of the gunshot ringing in his ears and the sight of Jongin dying right in front of him, the light in his eyes going out, forever glued in his mind, and had traced it back to his actions. He had thought that he had taken the one good thing that had been dealt to him in his life and ruined it, as if all he had done every second they were together led to Jongin dying because of him.

It had never occurred to him that it was true; it wasn’t his fault.

Baekhyun sobbed as he realized yes, the only thing he had ever done was love Jongin as much as Jongin had loved him back, in every mission they did together, every night they snuck away, every day they headed to a museum, and every conversation they had in their shared room. He had seen right before he died how much Jongin had loved him, had worried for him, and he had died with that love in his heart.

“He didn’t die in vain,” Chanyeol whispered in Baekhyun’s ear as his sobs quieted and Baekhyun knew in his heart that that too, was true.

He knew it wouldn’t be easy to mend how traumatic it had been to watch him die, how it had led to him feeling so worthless and useless in his own body he had to run from Paris, the only city he ever knew, and learning how to deal with nightmares and self consciousness. He’d lived so carefully, thinking that everyone he met could be harmed by him, when in reality he had never done any of the sort. The realization came in a rush to him crying in Chanyeol’s arms and he wept for the self that he had lost and the knowledge that he didn’t have to be like that.

The night air felt different as he breathed it in and Chanyeol’s arms around him felt like something he could learn to lean on as he did this, rebuilding himself like he knew he could. The knowledge that Chanyeol would probably leave him in a month’s time was pushed to the back of his mind as he sat there, thinking of everything he had done and how he could change it for the better.

The idea popped in his head and he sucked a breath in, overwhelmed by all the intense thoughts that had filled him that night. He willed them all away and just sank deeper into Chanyeol’s arms, letting him kiss him and relax him. When he spoke, he knew it was true, a weight lifting off his shoulders that he didn’t realize he had thought never would.

“I’ll be okay.”

♢♢♢

With the gala coming ever closer, Baekhyun’s plans were almost solidified.

The night of the heist was nearing and his actual mission plans were almost set, the nights of staying up on his laptop either remotely accessing museum information, messing with security, or going over data from his field trips wearing his glasses, having paid off. But the actual other parts of his life that would have to end with the heist were being planned as well. He didn’t pay for upcoming classes as the ones he was taking finished up their finals, him having somewhat decent grades that wouldn’t drop him to failing by the results of his exams. It was bittersweet meeting with Yixing for lunch breaks at work as he listened to the man, trying to drink in their casual conversations before he wouldn’t get to talk to them anymore. He’d even met up for another movie night with Tao and Luhan and had their numbers sitting in his phone, despite his insisting. The two of them weren’t terrible texting partners as well, and it just made Baekhyun a little more sad to leave this place.

But the most bittersweet was every day with Chanyeol. The night had brought them only closer together and Baekhyun tried to hide his sad smile every time Chanyeol kissed him before he dropped him off for work or during nights when it was just the two of them in his apartment. Chanyeol caught him watching when he was doing mundane tasks, while Baekhyun was just trying to admire every moment of him while he still could. He took too long to return Chanyeol’s clothes, living in his sweater for the weekend when he didn’t see him and began to smell like Chanyeol’s body wash after sneaking into his shower after nights shared together (and sometimes for another round of kissing and more). Even when Baekhyun was at his own apartment, Chanyeol was on his mind, worming his way into every part of Baekhyun’s life. They hadn’t even spoken about a label for their relationship, even though it was clearly more than just friends or the acquaintances that had met in the museum months ago. Baekhyun found that it was easier this way; without a label, he could try and convince himself he wasn’t ruining something concrete, even though it was serious enough to be.

In the time they had left, Baekhyun couldn’t get enough of him, even if he knew it would just hurt more when he was gone.

But for all his planning, there was still one thing left to accomplish: the actual heist. The last few weeks leading up to the gala had Baekhyun finding Chanyeol looking more stressed than usual, the furrow between his eyebrows more prominent as he got lost in thought and holing up in his office after Baekhyun had fallen asleep.

Baekhyun would open the office doors, startling Chanyeol out of his daze of work and leaving him with a confused expression before he saw Baekhyun and smiled. Baekhyun would walk over and stand between Chanyeol’s legs, leaning in for a kiss on his forehead as Chanyeol would wrap his arms around him. Baekhyun always kept his eyes trained off of the screen, the e-mails opened always familiar to him anyway when as far as Chanyeol knew, they were foreign to Baekhyun.

“Come back to bed. Work will be there in the morning,” Baekhyun would murmur against his skin as Chanyeol kissed his jaw lightly, leaving feather-like touches. Baekhyun still couldn’t get over the tender way Chanyeol held him, as if he was something special. Rather than make him feel fragile or like a flight risk, the gentle touch made him feel more wanted than he had in his life.

“This gala’s taking all my energy,” Chanyeol would whine and Baekhyun would just kiss him and drag him to bed slowly, after more insisting that he might have missed something.

“I just want it to go well,” is what Chanyeol would say with a smile as he kissed Baekhyun. Baekhyun tried to ignore the way Chanyeol radiated happiness around him as his heart sank at the knowledge of what he was going to do at that same gala he wanted to go so well.

Baekhyun had never meant for them to get this far, for him to be completely using Chanyeol. There was no desire to use him, the gala the farthest thing from his mind when he kissed Chanyeol. He needed him more than he had ever thought he would and Baekhyun realized the lingering guilt starting to build up in him was going to be near unbearable when they parted. He knew that Chanyeol didn’t have to necessarily know the loss of his precious paintings would be Baekhyun’s doing, but the flutter in his heart when Chanyeol kissed him whispered otherwise.

For all of his lying, at the end the least he could give him was the truth.

It was one of those nights where Baekhyun found Chanyeol up and at his desk again, but his usual persuasion tactics didn’t work. Chanyeol sat there, looking at Baekhyun strangely and Baekhyun shifted under the weight of the gaze, giving Chanyeol another kiss so he didn’t have to see how lovingly he was looking at him.

“What is it?” Baekhyun asked when he pulled away and Chanyeol gave him a mischievous smile. He still couldn’t get over how handsome the man was when he smiled; Baekhyun’s heart skipped a beat.

“Come with me. We’re going on a drive,” is all the warning he got before Chanyeol pushed him away lightly to get up and took his hand, pulling him into the entry of his apartment as Baekhyun laughed incredulously. 

Baekhyun found himself in Chanyeol’s car, the glowing clock flashing an offensive time early in the morning. He half expected to be whisked away on a trip equal to their cliff outing, but he was proved wrong quickly when they parked outside, of all places, the museum. It felt strange seeing it so deserted, their car the only one there.

“Wait, what?” Baekhyun said as Chanyeol turned off the car. They sat in silence and Baekhyun looked at him confused, watching as Chanyeol said nothing and stepped out, walking around and opening the door for Baekhyun to do the same.

He let himself be led once he was out of the car down the same side entrance he had waited outside of for their dinner date, thinking back to when he hadn’t known Chanyeol as more than the handsome museum curator he desperately needed information from, not knowing what he was really getting himself into. As Chanyeol pulled out his ID, the actual one and not the forged one Baekhyun had, he pushed away a fleeting thought that he should’ve worn his glasses if they were heading here. 

The hallway filled with offices looked somewhat eerie compared to the one time Baekhyun had been inside before, empty of people and with the lights on too bright after Chanyeol flicked them on. Chanyeol hesitated for a second and turned to Baekhyun, a question in his gaze.

“I can trust you,” Chanyeol said, a firm statement but it was clearly a question, ready for Baekhyun to correct.

In that moment, Baekhyun hadn’t felt so torn. Every bone in his body screamed no, that Chanyeol couldn’t trust him, that Chanyeol should run from him while he still could. It would’ve been easier for Baekhyun to run after the heist without seeing the consequences of his actions, but they were standing right in front of him. He could watch the trust in Chanyeol’s eyes now and would know wholeheartedly the crack it’ll leave in his heart when he leaves.

But Baekhyun only licked his lips and nodded, feeling like there was a roaring storm occurring in his head contrasting with the deadly silence of their surroundings. Chanyeol turned and began to tug him farther down the hall and Baekhyun tried to ignore his own disgust at himself.

Baekhyun had been pouring over a map of this place often enough that he could visualize it in his head exactly where they were; he knew on his left as this hallway ends was the way to more offices and he knew on his right led to the displayed part of the museum. Chanyeol turned left and continued down the next hallway, similar enough to the others that it would have been easy to get lost if someone had never been here before. He surprised Baekhyun however as he turned towards a door and pressed his keycard against another scanner before leading them inside.

Behind this door was clearly something different from the rest of the office and probably warranted special clearance if Chanyeol had to scan in again already inside the employee area of the building. Baekhyun felt his mind that usually made the decisions for missions again chastising him for grabbing his glasses on the way out, but frankly, the part of Baekhyun that wanted to see where Chanyeol was leading him was thankful he didn’t; wearing the glasses lately had made him feel more disgusted with himself, and he didn’t want to lie to Chanyeol anymore than he already was by secretly recording.

There were stairs down to what must be underneath the museum. It was more dimly lit going down and Baekhyun followed Chanyeol, trying to take it in and remember the details. He knew this existed on the map, but it had only been labeled and not shown like the ground level. 

The work lights were much less offensively bright than the ones up above, and Baekhyun felt like he had stepped into somewhere important. The tight walls from the stairs opened on the landing into a large room, filled with various boxes on the outskirts and with long work desks filling the interior of the room. What really caught Baekhyun’s eye were the various artifacts placed on the desks. There were sculptures across the room but closest to Baekhyun were paintings of all different sizes, including a particularly large one of a nature park. From his position a few feet away he could see the brush strokes that made up the image and he couldn’t help but admire it. Chanyeol had led him into a storage area and Baekhyun looked around in awe.

There was hidden art down here, something Baekhyun would have never been able to experience if he hadn’t known Chanyeol. As someone who’s only escape from what he thought was hell back in Paris was a museum, being able to see undisplayed art felt more heartfelt. It was like a treasure that was hidden to all, waiting to be discovered. When Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol, he saw that he had been watching him too and closed his mouth, not having realized his jaw had dropped looking at the art pieces.

“Try not to touch anything and follow me,” Chanyeol smiled as he warned him, nodding his head in the direction of another entrance. Baekhyun nodded and followed, watching his feet gingerly as he tried to avoid stepping too close to anything he could knock into as Chanyeol maneuvered around the desks and led them into the next room.

What he saw next made his jaw drop.

“Oh, Chanyeol, you shouldn’t have,” Baekhyun says in his shock, staring at the pieces in front of him with awe.

In the center of the room on a large steel work table were the paintings that were to be unveiled at the gala, laid out under the lights.

Baekhyun would have recognized them anywhere from how much he had researched them, the pictures of the uncovered works having surfaced on the Internet along with the original announcement of the gala from months ago. He knew each one’s artist, the image displayed, and probably most important to his mission, how much each was worth.

He walked up to the table cautiously, staring down at what had become the centerpiece of his life for the past few months. There were eleven paintings laid out on the table, and Baekhyun was nearest the five by Degas, with the Rembrandts on the other side of the table, but right in the center like it was placed there just for him was the newly rediscovered Vermeer painting.

Seeing it in person was more surreal than he should have admitted, with the fact that he should only see them as a profit and not as art with what he had to do. The image was looking into a room, a plain one, with a man and woman seated and another woman standing and examining a piece of sheet music in her hand. On the table behind them, a string instrument lay waiting to be used. 

The painting seemed to transport Baekhyun with the way it was drawn, the attention to shading making it seem as if sunlight flooded through the room through a window that wasn’t depicted. The realistic artwork made Baekhyun feel calm, as if he was watching three people deep in thought trying to create their own piece of artwork, as if any one of them could start singing or picking up the string instrument and start plucking at it gently, letting music fill the room.

He almost felt sad that he would have to take it soon and whisk it away once again from the public eye for admiration.

He hadn’t realized how silent he had gone in his thoughtfulness until he felt Chanyeol’s fingers lace with his own. The man had moved to stand next to him and Baekhyun looked down at their intertwined hands before he looked up to meet Chanyeol’s eyes. They had gone all wistfully soft again and Baekhyun felt a blush creep on his cheeks. Chanyeol had to have watched the way Baekhyun got absorbed in the painting as he refocused to his surroundings, having been mentally transported far from the storage room of a museum.

“There’s one more thing I want to show you,” Chanyeol said quietly. They hadn’t spoken for a long moment, the painting’s way of pulling Baekhyun in having filled the space any words could have.

Baekhyun let himself be led back out of the storage area, lost in his head again. He knew he should be paying attention, watching as Chanyeol locked the door behind them and led them out of the offices into the public part of the museum, yet another place Baekhyun had focused on intently over the past few weeks, escaping on the weekends to visualize the night of his mission.

He recognized the gallery they were in now, the large Tapestry Room, that seemed vacant without any tourists wandering around. Chanyeol let go of his hand and walked to the middle of the room after telling him to stay where he was. Chanyeol turned around to face Baekhyun, empty in a room surrounded by art though Baekhyun couldn’t help but think that Chanyeol was the most beautiful art of all.

“Picture this,” Chanyeol started and Baekhyun couldn’t help but smile.

“A long dining table that stretches from one end all the way to the other,” Chanyeol said as he swept his arm in the air in a big gesture.

“Over here,” he jogged a few steps closer to the wall. “There’s round tables as well, and they’re all decorated with beautiful candles and tablecloths and fancy chairs and everything you could imagine.

“We’re going to have vines hanging from the ceiling right above everyone,” Chanyeol pointed upwards at the spot where they would be. 

“Like some sort of magical forest? I thought this was supposed to be a fancy gala,” Baekhyun asked, a teasing smile on his lips. Chanyeol smiled back at him, his eyes softening.

“It’ll be magical even without the vines,” he explained as he walked to the wall, the only large empty space on it where paintings weren’t hung. 

“Here will be a stage where I’ll present each new painting,” Chanyeol explained and Baekhyun could see as he sighed that the thought alone was enough to make him nervous. 

“Then I have to give a speech that make the sponsors like me enough to keep giving us money,” Chanyeol explained, making Baekhyun laugh.

There was a silence as Chanyeol left his spot and walked to Baekhyun. He didn’t know why it struck him in that moment as Chanyeol came closer, but he hoped that this one moment, where they were alone and surrounded by art, could stay forever in a world of their own.

“This is my first gala. I have to really deliver,” Chanyeol explained as he stood in front of Baekhyun. Baekhyun looked down and noticed the way he fiddled with his own fingers, wringing at his hands. Baekhyun took his hands and intertwined them with his own fingers, rubbing softly in his skin and smiling slightly when Chanyeol sighed and relaxed a bit.

“If you need to stay up to work on last minute details, that’s okay. I know this is tough and you didn’t had to drag me out here to explain it if you would have rather been working,” Baekhyun explained, breathing the words with how close they were standing and how silent the seemingly endless rooms of art were. 

“I had a bigger purpose than that,” Chanyeol said, shaking his head with a smile. Baekhyun just watched him curiously as Chanyeol let go of a hand to gesture to the large room again.

“I know it’s my new job, but all this isn’t as comfortable for me as I am when I’m with you,” Chanyeol said. His gaze softened and Baekhyun didn’t have a second to respond before Chanyeol closed the gap between them, giving him a short, sweet kiss before pulling away, leaving their foreheads pressed together as a smile accompanied the blush on his cheeks.

“I can only imagine how much better it will be if you join me,” Chanyeol said. Baekhyun pulled away and searched the other man’s expression for confirmation of the question framed as a statement.

Baekhyun didn’t know much about the nuances of relationships if he was honest, but bringing a partner to a work event, especially one as big as the gala, seemed important. In all his own worrying for the heist, Baekhyun had forgotten that Chanyeol didn’t know he was going to have to be there anyway. The plan that had been perfected in his brain over and over again was simpler if he was an actual guest at the event, though he’d probably be a more apparent suspect if he wasn’t careful.

“Of course,” Baekhyun responded and tried to ignore the way his heart fluttered when Chanyeol's smile widened and stretched across his face. He let out a surprised little yelp when Chanyeol wrapped his arms around him and spun him around easily before putting him down and giving him another kiss before he could think, and much less react.

“Calm down! I don’t even have a suit for something like this,” Baekhyun giggled as Chanyeol pressed more kisses all over his face, so Baekhyun could feel his lips lingering on his nose, forehead, cheek, and jaw.

“Oh, that doesn’t matter, I’ll get you one,” Chanyeol dismissed it and planted yet another kiss on Baekhyun’s lips before he could protest.

Chanyeol pulled back and gave him one more smile, pushing Baekhyun’s hair out of his face with a gentle sweep of his fingers. The sudden excited air between them calmed and Baekhyun felt such a huge fondness growing in his heart that he felt like he was going to burst with adoration. He leaned in once more and gave him a soft kiss, wanting to feel Chanyeol’s lips against his instead of simply using them as a lovely distraction.

“Let’s go home, hm?” Baekhyun sighed into his mouth as they pulled apart. The night had wore on him and he hadn’t realized that he’d implied that Chanyeol’s apartment was both of theirs in the fond and tired daze he was in. Chanyeol kissed his forehead once more and took his hand, leading him out of the room and back into the night the same way he had led him in the museum.

Baekhyun hadn’t realized an art museum in America would be somewhat magical to him when the Louvre had just been a distraction, but that night, he found another world in it with Chanyeol alongside him.

♢♢♢

The guilt was eating away at him now.

The gala was just one week away, but here Baekhyun was, staring at his phone and sighing.

This was the fourth message in an hour that he hadn’t responded to, but to be fair, he had ignored Chanyeol that entire day. He felt disconnected, walking around work at a store he had always hated and feeling disconnected. Yixing smiled at him as kindly as always but it left a pang in Baekhyun’s heart.

He’d be quitting this Friday, anyway.

“Anything bothering you?” Yixing had asked sweetly as they picked up their things together; it was one of the shifts they ended at the same time, which had ended with him going over to Yixing’s and hanging out with Luhan and Tao a couple of times since their initial movie night. Baekhyun had already cancelled for tonight.

“It’s alright,” Baekhyun lied through his teeth, sighing. Lying had gotten too easy these days. Yixing, the angel as always, just nodded and turned away to head towards the door.

“You can always text me if you’re stressed with school,” Yixing offered before leaving and Baekhyun hummed in acceptance. If only it was schoolwork bothering him. He’d already left his next semester empty, as he wasn’t going to finish this one.

Their night at the museum was still magical, a place he often found his thoughts lost in. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized how he hadn’t deserved it. He hadn’t deserved Chanyeol. Texting him made him feel sick with dread at what was coming, when he knew that his phone would be dead without texts coming in soon enough.

He sat in his dinky little kitchen, more of just a single counter placed too close to the cabinets, fridge, oven, and stove behind him that he barely uses. He thumbed through a sketchbook, one that he hadn’t touched since he unpacked from his flight here. 

Each sketch seemed to pull him back to another memory of Paris, as he stared at ones of paintings in the Louvre and plazas in Paris. He stopped at one of Jongin for several moments, trying to not let the tears that welled up in his eyes fall. It was a simple pencil sketch without color, but Baekhyun could still imagine the way his eyes had lit up when he smiled and Jongin’s unusual high-pitched laughter vibrantly in his mind.

The next page was blank. The idea struck him and he was almost knocked down at the sudden desire to grab a pencil, the itch to draw more present than it had been for years. He stole one from his desk, and it wasn’t one of the nice ones Jongin had bought him for his 16th birthday that he loved, but it will work, as he placed the tip on his paper and began to draw before he could think against it.

His hand wasn’t as steady as it had been years ago, but it felt as easy to remember as riding a bike. He made light strokes and the feeling was liberating, a calm settling over him as he focused on nothing other than the sketch he was drawing. The night outside had started to quiet, people in the city heading home to sleep and leaving no sound outside his window. 

He finished and set his pencil down, shaking his hand out. It had been a long time since he sketched and the ideas in his brain had come too fast for him to relax his hand. He examined the drawing and felt a rush of emotions go through him.

It was their night at the museum, but pictured just as Chanyeol had described. Baekhyun had a vague idea of what the decorations would look like, having skimmed over the emails about them that had been in Chanyeol’s inbox, but there was the image that had appeared in his mind. The room was set for a gala, complete with the adorned tables and candlelight and paintings surrounding, and even the vines hanging from the ceiling. But the room was empty of people, except for the small figures in the large room standing next to a stage, holding each other lovingly like they had that night. Baekhyun had tried to do Chanyeol justice, from the curly mess of hair on his forehead, to the muscles showing through the skin of his arms that were wrapped around Baekhyun, but his simple pencil sketch would never match the beauty of the man he adored. His pencil sketches had never been art, but the emotions he felt looking at it seemed enough to deem it art. It looked like what Baekhyun would call heaven.

He let the tears fall this time while staring at the sketch. It was simple, outlines instead of details and pencil lead instead of brush strokes but it felt more beautiful to him than any famous painting he’d ever seen. Maybe it was because it showed him something he would never have. But he found acceptance in it, if this was sketch was all he would ever have of them; after all, with how many lies he told, he didn’t really deserve more.

Alone in his apartment, Baekhyun felt more lonely than he’d ever been, the nights at Chanyeol’s place worlds away. And with the memories of the way Chanyeol kissed him and held him and all around adored him playing like a movie in his head, he ripped a blank page out of his sketchbook and put his pencil to the paper again, but this time with the intention to write instead of draw.

♢♢♢

Chanyeol didn’t understand this sudden radio silence from Baekhyun.

It was the second day now that Baekhyun had gone without responding to his messages and Chanyeol had over-thought every second of the last night they had together from the moments in the museum to the morning when he had dropped Baekhyun off for work and hadn’t heard from him again. He felt like he had done something wrong somehow, but how could he have, when Baekhyun had smiled at him in the same beautiful way that made his eyes smile as well when he had waved goodbye to him in the car?

With the gala only a few days away now, he really should be paying attention to the poor lady speaking to him about the sponsors that were threatening to cancel last minute if the nutritionist couldn’t provide them with the proper meal with their diet restrictions, but how could Chanyeol think about cranky, older rich people when Baekhyun was the only thing on his mind?

“Can I have a minute with Chanyeol, please?” Kris spoke from the doorway of Chanyeol’s office and Chanyeol shot him a thankful glance when the woman stopped mid-sentence to turn and shake her head before leaving to run off to attend to another emergency. 

Chanyeol rubbed at his eyes and groaned, leaning back in his chair. His desk was a mess, papers piling up disorganized on either side of his computer. It had been this way for the past two weeks now, and frankly, Chanyeol didn’t have the willpower or patience to even clean his desk, let alone go through the various paperwork.

“What’s up, man, really? You’ve been all distracted the past two days,” Kris asked as he leaned against the edge of the doorway, crossing his arms and looking at Chanyeol with the look that Chanyeol had come to realize meant worry with how inexpressive Kris was.

“It’s nothing,” Chanyeol muttered. He looked up at Kris and tried to act convincingly enough to nonchalantly kick him out, waving a hand at him, but Kris didn’t move.

“Is it Baekhyun?” Kris asked quietly. Chanyeol grimaced; it was immature of him to not be present at work because of a boy. Baekhyun and him hadn’t even said anything official yet, but he assumes the way they act and his invitation to bring him to the gala was serious enough without speaking about it.

“He’s ghosted me for the past two days,” Chanyeol admitted. He hated talks like this with Kris; he knew the other guy was trying to support him, but Kris was awkward, usually.

“Did you do something to scare him?” Kris half-teased. Chanyeol thought of how he’d dragged him to the museum. Baekhyun had looked beautiful, even in Chanyeol’s hoodie that was too big for him and his messy hair from sleep, that night. He’d smiled at Chanyeol in the way that made his body sing and kissed him just as sweetly. 

“Maybe,” Chanyeol sighed. He looked down at his desk for a moment, lost in his thoughts. It took a second for him to realize that Kris was still there and looked up, finding him standing in the same position with the beginnings of a teasing smile on his face.

“What are you doing here moping when you don’t even know what it is? Go talk to him so you can come back to us and do your job,” Kris said. Chanyeol was struck dumb as Kris gave him a knowing look before turning and walking out of the office.

“He’s right,” Chanyeol muttered. He smiled to himself as a plan came to fruition in his head and he felt a surge of excitement go through him as he stood up and walked out of his office with a spring in his step, turning in the direction of the intern who had tried to speak to him, determined to hunt her down.

He could get through work today, especially because it meant he’d talk to Baekhyun again.

♢♢♢

Baekhyun didn’t know what he expected to be on the other side of the front door when he opened it, but it wasn’t Chanyeol.

The emotions he had been balling up in hopes that they wouldn’t hurt him as badly when he inevitably left came flooding back once he set eyes on the other man. Baekhyun had been even convincing himself that maybe he would cancel on being plus one just to spare the pain of seeing Chanyeol, but that plan was out the window now. Chanyeol stood in front of him in his suit and Baekhyun almost had the breath stolen from him at how beautiful he looked, even in just his work clothes.

“Baekhyun,” was all Chanyeol managed to breathe out before Baekhyun pulled him inside and closed the door behind him, pushing Chanyeol against the door and kissing him.

It hadn’t been that long since they last kissed, but Baekhyun felt overwhelmed with how much he knew he was going to miss it soon. Chanyeol’s body relaxed against his and his arms wrapped around Baekhyun’s body just the way he liked. Baekhyun sighed when they pulled apart to breathe, taking in every second and savoring it as much as he could.

They pulled away for longer to breathe, buzzed from kissing and faces still close together.

“Why haven’t you talked to me?” Chanyeol asked as he began pressing kisses to various places on Baekhyun’s face. Baekhyun had to take a second to process the words spoken, his thoughts muddled from Chanyeol’s actions. Even when he did understand, he didn’t speak. He hated it; even now, when it ate him alive more than anything, he still had to lie. He wasn’t directly lying now, but omitting the truth was the same thing.

“Just kiss me,” Baekhyun said, tugging on Chanyeol’s tie and pulling him closer to his lips. He saw the flash of disappointment in Chanyeol’s eyes before he closed them and leaned in and tried to ignore it. The trust that Chanyeol had in him was nowhere near deserved. No matter how much he wanted to, Baekhyun couldn’t tell him anything here.

The realization struck in the middle of Baekhyun’s cloudy brain from kissing that his desk was in his room. His heartbeat spiked, realizing the precarious situation of all the evidence that could incriminate him and he broke away, tugging Chanyeol by the arm to his couch before he had any ideas to take him to the bedroom.

He knew Chanyeol wanted answers. He could feel it in the sort of hesitant way Chanyeol was kissing him, his hands unsure on his body but still feeling as nice against his skin as ever. He was trying to kiss it out of him, but he knew he wasn’t doing a very good job, what with how distracted he was too that they were in _Baekhyun’s apartment_ , where if he wasn’t careful, he could be going to jail pretty soon and never finish his mission.

Baekhyun licked into his mouth softly the way that Chanyeol liked and smiled at the moan it pulled from the other man’s lips. He could feel the fever now, the desire that ran through his body at the sound as he pulled Chanyeol closer.

It might have initially been a distraction, but Baekhyun forgot it. Somewhere in between when he tore off his last piece of clothing and sat naked on Chanyeol’s lap and first beginning to ride him, pain coursing through his body along with pleasure, he realized this was probably the last time he’d ever be fucked by Chanyeol. It was juvenile, but Baekhyun squeezed his eyes shut and felt the tear spill from his eyes before he could stop it, the pang of pain in his heart overwhelming. Chanyeol kissed the tear away before settling on his lips and Baekhyun kissed him back, harshly, with more emotions than he ever dare say.

The pleasure overtook his other strong emotions and he found himself shuddering in Chanyeol’s arms, riding him to completion and moaning as he gripped his arms for some sort of grip on reality. Chanyeol thrust up into him as Baekhyun’s pace slowed and he felt his hands tighten on Baekhyun’s hair, a gasp meaning that he was in the midst of orgasm too.

They sat covered in a thin layer of sweat and panting, soft kisses exchanged as they came down from their high. It felt domestic to Baekhyun and he felt like each kiss was a little treasure. Who knew if he would feel Chanyeol’s lips on his again?

The silence that fell over them after Baekhyun slid off of him with a whimper at the loss and they cleaned off was deafening. There was nothing really different outside than had always been at his apartment but staring at Chanyeol in here felt so strange when so many hours in the little dinky rooms had been dedicated to eventually breaking his trust. Baekhyun had never felt the weight of so many words unsaid and sighed.

“You should probably leave,” Baekhyun said after he mustered the will to say it. It was a terrible thing, to watch the way Chanyeol deflated. But his face hardened after that with a determination that made Baekhyun’s own heart flutter and he stepped forward, joining Baekhyun on the couch. Baekhyun didn’t move to sit close to him and press his head into Chanyeol’s chest the way he had grown too accustomed to doing. It took an incredible effort not to.

“I don’t know what I did,” Chanyeol whispered. Baekhyun just shook his head and sighed. They didn’t say anything for a moment.

“Are you coming to the gala?” Chanyeol asked, and it sounded like his words had been contemplated over and over. Baekhyun nodded and looked away as Chanyeol nodded too, as if an assurance to himself. 

He moved to get up and began to walk past Baekhyun but the other man grabbed his arm before he could move impulsively. Chanyeol looked down at him and Baekhyun felt his breath be stolen once again at how beautiful he was.

“Kiss me?” Baekhyun asked in a quiet voice. Chanyeol softened and smiled, the small one that Baekhyun knew meant adoration and leaned down, giving Baekhyun a sweet chaste kiss. It felt so much like finality to him that it hurt.

For a long time after the front door closed behind Chanyeol, Baekhyun sat on the couch unmoving, just looking at the wall in front of him.

♢♢♢

It had been the way his name was written across the back of the sheet of paper that made Chanyeol smile and only think for a second before reaching for it and unfolding it.

He had been a little shocked to find the page of writing greeting him, in a print that Chanyeol couldn’t decipher without concentrating, but by the time his eyebrows furrowed in his first attempts at reading the first sentence, Baekhyun had called him from the outside of the bathroom.

“Chanyeol?” It had been the same kind of quiet voice Baekhyun always got when he was thinking about something. Chanyeol sighed and thought about it for a second before pulling out his phone from his pocket of the jeans he had put back on and snapped a picture of the sheet quietly before unlocking the door and being greeted by the other man, wearing the soft smile that Chanyeol had come to read as silent gratitude at him being there.

There were so many things that Chanyeol had come to find so endearing about Baekhyun, from the way he had a subtle French accent and thought about some of his words before thinking, to the loud way he laughed and spoke when he was excited, to his different smiles that he had realized meant so much more than what he said and Chanyeol had come to adore them all. Frankly, there had been another word in his mind that he hadn’t dared to think about since it had first appeared in his mind when he had seen Baekhyun cry on the hood of his car on the cliffside and his heart had felt just a little torn. It was too strong of a word, for both what he could handle mentally and for what he thought Baekhyun could accept with how much struggle he had hidden from Chanyeol until that same night.

But Chanyeol had never felt such heartbreak and anger that made him feel blinded as when he dropped his phone after reading the letter back in his own apartment.

_Chanyeol,_

_You’re not going to like this. But it’s the truth, all of it: the words I could never say and the words that I could have said, but wasn’t strong enough to. You can have all of it now. I ran away from Paris because of Jongin dying, yes, but I was running away from something greater: illegal ties, and a place I no longer belonged in. But my ghosts followed me here. It was no coincidence that I met you in the museum that day and listened to you for so long. I’ve had a mission for as long as you have known me._

_I’m not proud of it, but I’m good at stealing. It was what I was known for in Paris, what people wanted from me. I stole big, important things, and never had to answer for it. Years after I left and just before I met you, I was promised that if I just did one last job, I’d be rid of them forever. And that was all I’d ever wanted; how could I say no? But the job was to steal enough so one of the richest men in the Paris undercity would keep quiet about a catastrophic scandal. The place I chose to steal from was the museum’s gala._

_By the time you’ve read this, the gala has been robbed. The 11 paintings that were meant to be presented that night never were because a criminal snuck out with them right under the museum security and the people of the city’s biggest art scene’s noses. That criminal was me. By now, I’m probably on the coast or sailing back to Europe._

_Writing this in a letter is the dumbest thing I’ve ever done. But I have to tell you somehow. When I met you, I may have initially had ill motives, but everything I felt for you ~~was~~ is real. Within a week, I didn’t want to do this job anymore, but the Paris undercity is unforgiving. I hadn’t been looking for it, but you gave me something I never thought I needed: the realization that Jongin’s death wasn’t my fault, and that I am deserving of something more than guilt. But I’ll never be deserving of you._

_You probably hate me now. If you turn me into the police, I won’t blame you. The guilt I’ll feel forever is worse of a prison than any they could throw me in. But I’ve learned enough about me that I know one thing: I think I love you. I think somewhere in between all the lies that I’ve grown to hate more than anything, I found something more real than I ever thought I could in you. I’ve just been running from my past in Paris for so long that I don’t know how to stop. And after how we began, with the way I planned to use you, I could never face you and admit that all I really wanted was you. I’m sorry._

_I’ll love you always,_  
_Baekhyun_

As Chanyeol finished reading the words on his screen, he dropped his phone. He felt the waves of shock roll through his body but he couldn’t process words. His apartment was dimly lit in the night so that the phone screen glowed bright and offensive at him from its spot on the floor, the incriminating words mocking him.

Then the anger set in.

_The presentation he’d been giving when they met. Their coffee shop date talking about paintings and Baekhyun’s impressive knowledge on the upcoming gala. Their last night at the museum._

Chanyeol’s heart squeezed painfully as he realized just how much he had revealed to Baekhyun in his blind trust in him, falling and not thinking about the consequences at all for his beauty.

Chanyeol screamed in frustration as he stalked to his kitchen and began to pour himself a drink, ignoring his phone as it buzzed with a notification from the man who betrayed him.

♢♢♢

Chanyeol hadn’t texted him. But to be fair, Baekhyun hadn’t either.

The morning was just like any other that he had woken up to since getting this dinky little apartment, but it felt nostalgic already. Baekhyun sat up in bed and looked around, looking at the small, cramped window the sun had shone through each morning and the messy room around him that had become his home, trying to take it in. He’d called in sick for the day.

Little did they know, he wouldn’t be coming back.

It was the day he had been waiting for for so long but it felt like he was going through the motions. Baekhyun was stuck in his own head as he carefully ripped out sketches from his notebook that he’d reached for more times in the past week than he had in years. He tried to ignore the embarrassment crawling under his skin at having to look back at drawing after drawing of him and Chanyeol and just Chanyeol. If Baekhyun didn’t have to do this, they probably could have spent months together and he could have shown him these during a heartfelt talk after midnight that they had exchanged before Baekhyun went missing from his phone. He swallowed his pride and folded the sheets carefully before stuffing them into the envelope along with the letter he took from by the mirror in his bathroom and closed it; looking at these drawings again would hurt later, so he might as well give them to Chanyeol. It wasn’t like they were irreplaceable either, not when Baekhyun’s hand had already gotten used to sketching out Chanyeol’s features on paper.

He drove to Chanyeol’s apartment in the late afternoon when he knew that the man would be too busy at work with preparations for tonight and unlocked the door with the spare key Chanyeol had insisted he had. Baekhyun’s heart squeezed a little as the bitter thought that Chanyeol would probably want the key back after tonight.

The apartment felt too familiar for Baekhyun, making him take in a shaky breath. It all looked unbearably the same, as if it didn’t know its most frequent visitor was never to return. Of course, Chanyeol didn’t know anything was going to change, so why would it look different? 

Baekhyun walked over to the counter, immaculately clean as always, while looking away from the couch in the living room that held too many memories of Chanyeol for him to let flood into his brain at the moment and set the envelope down. He knew if he stayed much longer, the full weight of the night would hit him and he wouldn’t be able to bring himself to leave. So with another deep breath, he turned and walked out of the apartment, locking the door behind him and heading back to his car.

He tried to ignore the way it felt like he was closing the door on Chanyeol.

The hours seemed to tick by with unprecedented speed and soon enough, it was seven and Baekhyun was arranging his tie in the mirror. He didn’t look much different, but he felt different; he was about to probably do the thing he’d regret most in life, even though he knew he had no other choice, but he knew these three months of this had given him both the greatest blessing and biggest curse. And now, he was about to walk away from it all.

No matter what happened tonight, he had changed.

The museum was bustling as the night began, people walking up the steps to the entrance dressed beautifully and expensively. Baekhyun from three months ago would have shied away at the sight of such nice-looking clothing, but Chanyeol had insisted on getting him a nice suit as a gift and he felt strange wearing it now. He realized then that he’d probably have to get rid of it after this; it’d hurt too much to keep.

Three months of preparation had led to this. Baekhyun had fallen into the same easy feeling of calm nerves he had mastered with heists in Paris. It was annoying how easy it was to fall back into, but at least it would give him one thing, which was the only real goal he had for himself, more important to Baekhyun than even the success of the heist:

Making the most out of the last few hours he had with Chanyeol before he left him forever.

♢♢♢

It had been the first text he had received from the man in almost a week, and for such an occasion, Chanyeol would have thought it would have said something more.

[8:07 PM] Baekhyun: i’m here

The text was so simple but it made Chanyeol’s stomach turn in anger and sadness at the same time. He hadn’t forgotten the plans they had made for Chanyeol to meet Baekhyun near the offices he had led him through that night the museum was deserted; they’d been the biggest thing on his mind. But he’d overthought the moment so much that now that it was actually here, he didn’t know how to react.

Chanyeol unlocked the door that led to the back entrance of the museum offices and was met with the sight of Baekhyun in a suit, giving him a smile that looked nervous and relieved at the same time. Chanyeol was filled with so many conflicting emotions that the only thought that actually managed to get through his brain was, _Hey, that’s the suit I bought him._

Chanyeol had planned to confront him, planned to kick Baekhyun out and see if he’d go through with his disastrous plan anyway. But Baekhyun was standing in front of him now as if nothing was wrong, giving him a smile as if he hadn’t ignored him for a week probably out of guilt, and stepped forward, wrapping his arms around Chanyeol and pulling him down for a kiss, the first one in what felt like forever. For all of Chanyeol’s pent-up emotions, he had been stiff when he saw the other man but melted in his arms and kissed him back for a single, blissful second before pulling away. 

“Everything okay?” Baekhyun asked, searching Chanyeol’s features in a way that Chanyeol had come to love when he saw how tenderly he gazed at him. Chanyeol knew Baekhyun would never say it out loud, but he had written it in the letter, the one Baekhyun had no idea he’d read: he loved him. Baekhyun loved him.

And when he looked so beautiful in his suit, Chanyeol felt his resolve drifting away. If he hadn’t read the letter, the museum would still be robbed. The only difference now was that he knew. If he hadn’t looked, he would have had to deal with the mess that was about to happen anyway.

And no matter how bad or good it was, the way that the future of his career seemed to fade away as he watched Baekhyun continue to meet his eyes softly made him realize: Chanyeol was hopelessly in love with him as well. The second realization had struck that after this night, Baekhyun would be gone.

It was the most selfish thing he had ever done, but the thought appeared crystal clear in his head: why not enjoy it in blissful ignorance?

So Chanyeol leaned forward and swept Baekhyun up in a kiss filled with the love that overpowered the anger he had for the man at what he had to do that night. Then, they turned and walked inside.

♢♢♢

Baekhyun had never felt so out of place in his life in the presence of so many people with the rich and stuffy aura, commenting on the art they had displayed around the room with such criticism that Baekhyun couldn’t see at all why these people had invested all their money in art. But he hadn’t realized how much of a mistake it would be to join as Chanyeol’s date until he saw him completely in his element.

He had watched it before the first day we met, but Baekhyun could understand now why he had been put in such a high position at the museum for being so young: he knew how to work a crowd and charm a group perfectly. The sponsors laughed perfectly at Chanyeol’s jokes and his polished smiles, and when the man reached for Baekhyun’s hand at times and gave it a soft squeeze, reminding him that he was still there for him even while being occupied, Baekhyun realized there was no way he wouldn’t have fallen for the man no matter how they met.

His eyes followed Chanyeol helplessly even more as he realized in a few short hours, he’d be gone forever.

The watch he had put on, still a cheap one since Chanyeol hadn’t managed to buy him one, unlike the suit, seemed to be working overtime to move closer and closer to the time he had to leave. Baekhyun had the schedule of the gala completely memorized in his head, he’d like to consider the notion that he knew it better than even the organizers, so of course as the hour neared closer to ten o’clock, he would have to go downstairs before he missed his chance.

He was trying not to give in to the terrible temptation to not do anything and just let his chance pass by. But as much as Chanyeol looked beautiful, Baekhyun knew now more than ever that he was just a blissful treat and not meant for him forever; especially not after what Baekhyun was about to do. He had fifteen minutes left and swallowed the last bits of his self-control to just let the moment pass before he tugged at Chanyeol’s sleeve.

He listened as Chanyeol wrapped up the end of his sentence quickly and excused himself, turning to give him his attention. Baekhyun felt sheepish under Chanyeol’s gaze, but he tried to ignore his emotions and just revel in it for one last time. Then he opened his mouth and spoke before he could take it back.

♢♢♢

All Baekhyun had said was that he had to leave to the bathroom for a few minutes to get away from the overwhelmingness of the whole rich gala scene, but Chanyeol knew what it was. He tried to ignore the way his heart squeezed with pain as he insisted to lead him down the hallway.

“Are you sure you don’t want to just go out to my car and take a drive or something? Clear your mind? You don’t even need to come back, it’ll just be a few hours,” Chanyeol mumbled, but Baekhyun shook his head when he turned back, and murmured the quietest of ‘no, thank you’s. They were out of sight from the crowd of the main room and Chanyeol’s eyes went down to stare at the floor between them, their dress shoes facing each other from how closely they stood.

“Give me a kiss before you go,” Chanyeol said, and gave him a smile. He tried not to make it a sad one as he swallowed the lump in his throat before it could threaten him anymore with tears. Chanyeol knew this was the last time he’d see Baekhyun.

The kiss was nothing special. Chanyeol hated the facade he had to put up, when he wanted nothing more than to sweep the smaller man in his arms and hold onto him so he couldn’t leave. He wanted to kiss him and whisper softly in his ear all the ‘I love you’s he’d never said, the ones he hadn’t allowed himself to consider before he realized Baekhyun was leaving.

But he didn’t have the energy in him to be mad either. The fact was that Chanyeol had no idea what Baekhyun was running away from, but it was clearly important to get him to be ready to commit such a crime against his will. The words from the letter were flashing through his mind and Chanyeol thought he could read the three little words in Baekhyun’s eyes as they pulled away. Baekhyun’s eyes were as beautiful as always, taking in Chanyeol’s face for what they both knew was the last time. 

“See you,” is all Baekhyun said as he stepped away and turned, not looking back. Chanyeol tried to ignore the way his heart seemed to crumble slowly in his chest as the last words he heard from Baekhyun were yet another lie.

♢♢♢

It only took forty minutes for all hell to break loose.

Within less than an hour, Chanyeol had delivered his winning speech, charming the entire crowd and using his usual outgoing nature to enjoy the laughter that fell from their lips at his quips, even though he knew he was setting them up for disappointment. He had paused for a second to whispering somewhere to his left from two workers that they’d found something off with the security cameras but Chanyeol tried to ignore the strong beats of his heart and continued on without missing a step. He had felt like he was as directly involved in the crime as Baekhyun had to be.

Because of course, it succeeded.

Just as Chanyeol stepped down and allowed the sponsor to step on stage, the one that had lended most of the money for the new collection, his stomach had filled with a queasy feeling. Then the security guards that were supposed to remain backstage in their uniforms burst open the backstage doors, out of place without dress attire, and began yelling to secure the room and that no one would leave.

Chanyeol stood in a daze as the shocked voices surrounded him, claiming “the paintings are gone!”, because he had known. A part of him hadn’t believed the truth until it happened and now the sirens outside were wailing as frazzled sponsors and guests talked in their phones loudly about the brand new scandal and were taken to be questioned by police.

“Sir, are you alright?” the same intern who had caught him at a bad time, worried about Baekhyun, just a few days ago asked, handing him a glass of water and leading him away from the mess of a gala scene. The beautiful decorations and hanging vines they had invested in didn’t look so beautiful anymore in light of the stolen artwork.

“They’re going to catch the person who did it, alright?” She began to reassure him as she led him into the back offices. “I promise you the person who did this will be punished rightfully for it.”

She left him alone in his desk and scurried back out into the gala room, the door opening and closing with the loud talking being shut away behind her.

“Oh, God, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol said as he stared out into the empty hallway. No one was there; no one had been there just a week before either in the dead of the night, as he led the man he loved in and watched him smile full of love he’d never voice.

“Get out of here fast,” he whispered to no one.

♢♢♢

Two hours and three cars later, Baekhyun was on the coast.

Boston was on the coast already, but he couldn’t have left there with the paintings, not when the radio was already blaring about the gala heist and the police were on high alert.

Baekhyun had driven to Provincetown, a small coastal town about as far into the ocean as you could get on America’s east coast. It was small and quaint enough that no one there would be looking for a thief here, especially not Baekhyun, who as of that night was the most wanted thief in the country.

Parking the car at the empty beach in the dead of night, he could look out at the deck and see the outline of a man’s figure at the edge, staring out at the water, the waves crashing calmly against the beach’s edge. It was so quiet; too quiet for Baekhyun when his heart was racing still from the adrenaline rush.

Baekhyun stayed in his car as the man turned to see his headlights on, the only ones within sight of the sleepy little town. He didn’t particularly want to exchange words with him but when Kyungsoo Do walked straight up to the driver’s window, he had to roll it down and meet his eyes.

“You know, they’re looking for you all over Boston,” Kyungsoo said in French and Baekhyun nodded. His distaste for the man was still sitting on his tongue as his former gang leader’s eyes flickered to the back seat.

“I convinced a man to let me have his boat. Paid him handsomely for it, too,” Kyungsoo said in a conversational tone as Baekhyun unlocked the car and he opened the trunk of the car, revealing the 11 paintings.

The two men drove the car closer to the dock, where Baekhyun could see the decent-sized boat docked and waiting. Baekhyun took no pleasure in the work of moving the paintings inside, having to go into the cargo area of the ship and hide them behind crates and equipment already sitting there.

Baekhyun hadn’t expected the empty feeling at finally getting the job done as he stared at Kyungsoo, standing on the deck of the ship and about to untie the rope from the dock and sail off. He had expected a weight to be lifted off his shoulders, the final horrendous bit of his past falling off of him and freeing him. 

But instead he just felt nothing.

“I can’t stay here,” He said softly. Kyungsoo gave him no response other than a raised eyebrow, as if he’d known that was what Baekhyun would say all along.

“You don’t want to rejoin me either,” Kyungsoo spoke, and Baekhyun knew his words still rang true; he couldn’t stomach working for the man again, even if he had never really disliked him. The work was soul-draining, and after Chanyeol, Baekhyun had figured out that life wasn’t destined to be like that for him forever.

“I can’t,” Baekhyun agreed and Kyungsoo sighed, untying the rope and leaving the boat to float in the choppy water waves, still drifting close to the dock. Baekhyun felt his heart skip a beat as his chance became dangerously close to drifting away.

He hopped the distance from the dock to the boat and looked back at the sleepy little town. It was truly tiny, but he felt a tug at his heartstrings at leaving it behind. It meant America, the country he had worked so hard in, that was also the place he had left so quickly.

The car sat in the parking lot, without an owner and waiting to be towed. His apartment in Boston would sit and collect rent that no one would pay. Yixing’s number was already deleted from his phone and the coffee shop in the mall that he frequented so often wouldn’t be receiving orders from him anymore. He’d left it all behind.

He left Chanyeol behind.

Baekhyun had already cried enough tears and staring at the land as Kyungsoo, having moved inside the cockpit already, began the ship’s engines and let them sail away from the country, he let the longing in his heart for it float off into the wind. It disappeared just like he had from American soil.

His love for Chanyeol, on the other hand, didn’t leave. No, Baekhyun knew that even though he may have betrayed him, those feelings would stay. Maybe forever, or just until he finally found his feet again. But one thing was to be certain: that love had changed him. From life in underground gangs to a struggling retail worker, he hadn’t had it easy, except for Chanyeol. He knew that was a love he’d cherish. He may not be able to live in the country ever again, not with what he had done, but that relationship would tie him to the land forever.

Baekhyun felt his heart crack into pieces as he watched the little town disappear in the horizon. Then, he turned around to face forward, towards Europe and towards another uncertain future.


	3. deux ans après

Paris held a different air to it now.

It had been two years since he had sailed away from America, leaving behind an art scandal that even reached the ears of Europeans as he docked on another coastal city across the ocean with a strange sense of deja vu. The country of France was something he couldn’t bear to live in anymore, not with the familiarity and dread that set in as he thought of the cities and culture he had grown up in.

Baekhyun ran off to England instead and found a life much like the one he had been working for on the other side of the Atlantic; there were plenty of retail jobs in London too, and he had found a few friends already too. He missed Yixing, but he wasn’t going to make the same mistake of waiting to bond with someone. Especially now that he knew his ghosts were behind him.

But even though he couldn’t live in France anymore, the art still called him there.

He stood in front of the Louvre, a place he hadn’t been to since he was a teenager. Standing in the line for the entrance made him feel as though he had stepped back in time, sketchbook in hand again as he waited to walk through the halls and past the paintings that felt more to him like a home than any other part of the country had throughout his childhood.

The tourists passed by him, bustling and speaking in varied accents and languages about the art, most of them having probably never seen it before. It felt like walking through his past to Baekhyun forever, so much so that he found himself falling back into the old habit of thinking in French.

He made his way outside to the gardens and sat on a bench, sitting with his legs crossed on top of it and opening the sketchpad in front of him. Years ago he would stare at the art itself and try to capture its aura that he felt so prominently, or the interested looks of tourists taking it in, but today he was content to draw the scenic garden outside, the world of the chattering people passing through seeming to fall away.

The sketches were not far off from what he used to produce in his past teenage years, except for the one detail that had wormed its way into his drawings nowadays; Chanyeol.

Baekhyun hadn’t seen the man in years, but he stayed in Baekhyun’s mind and manifested into his drawings often. When he used to be content watching and sketching the features of passerby, he found himself emptying the setting he drew of people except for the figures of him and Chanyeol. Baekhyun hadn’t heard from Chanyeol since America, since he got rid of his old phone and essentially his identity, according to the government anyway. But the memories and leftover emotions still lived in his heart, albeit buried in the way that Baekhyun had learned to find manageable to bear along with the fact that Chanyeol would one day be yet another distant ghost of his past.

He’d finished the sketch within a few minutes and examined his handiwork; it was a little shoddy compared to his usual ones, what with the wind blowing a bit more than usual today, but it wasn’t to the point that he would throw it away immediately. The little figures of him and Chanyeol stood next to the tree in the centerpiece of the garden, an arm wrapped around his waist like he assumed Chanyeol would if things hadn’t ended the way they had.

Or so Baekhyun thought.

He sighed and closed the sketchbook, looking up to just take in the view for a little while before moving through more of the museum when his gaze fell on the tree he had just drawn. The little figures of his past lover had been just a fantasy on his page, so Baekhyun had to blink twice at what he thought was a trick of the light. When he realized it wasn’t, he was quite certain his heart literally stopped.

Leaning against the tree and looking exactly the same as he had two years ago, was Chanyeol, staring right at him.

Baekhyun gulped and looked down at his sketchbook, a wave of unidentifiable emotions and even nausea clawing its way through him. The tidy dam he had built around his feelings seemed to crumble in an instant as he sneaked another look up and sure enough, there he still was, staring at him. Chanyeol surely had to have caught him looking, right?

Baekhyun tried to ignore the instinct to either curl up in a ball and close his eyes or run away as he sensed Chanyeol walk towards him.

It really was Chanyeol, he realized, as he looked up when long legs stopped right in front of him. Sitting down on the small bench made him feel even smaller than he was, but it pained him even more to see that yes, even up close, Chanyeol really hadn’t changed physically.

It struck him with fear in that moment that despite his unchanging appearance, he didn’t know how much damage he had left to the man internally.

“Baekhyun?” Chanyeol asked, the same voice he had dreamt of, his mind not having forgotten even with all the years between them and the lost voicemails now in a two years destroyed phone. He hadn’t heard that voice in two years but it opened another outpouring of emotions inside him and it took everything in Baekhyun to push down the lump in his throat.

“I’m sorry,” Baekhyun blurted out and he didn’t realize how liberating it would feel until he said it. Two other words could not sum up more how he had felt, the guilt he had been wrecked with after their parting, that had almost consumed him for a month that he found himself in another shitty apartment across the world that had been Kyungsoo’s last parting present for him, crying and hiding under his bed and trying to stop feeling for once.

Chanyeol sat next to him and another surge of excitement tore through him at the fact that it really was Chanyeol. Two years ago, Baekhyun would have smiled and leaned into him immediately, but now he didn’t even have an inkling of what the other man was thinking.

“I knew, you know,” Chanyeol said and Baekhyun’s brain didn’t process it.

“What?” He asked. He turned to look at Chanyeol and was almost taken aback again when he met with those eyes that had appeared every time he fell asleep in his dreams.

“I knew what you were going to do before it happened,” Chanyeol admitted, a slight smile on his face. He looked back at the tree and the gardens, watching a small girl chase a butterfly as her parents watched a few feet away before continuing. “I knew you stole the paintings.”

Baekhyun really didn’t understand what was happening now. He reached up and pinched himself before he could think about it, and certain enough, it wasn’t a dream.

“You didn’t turn me in?” He asked after a long pause. Baekhyun’s thoughts were racing. _How could he have known? How could he have known and still kissed me the night of the gala?_

It was Chanyeol’s turn to take a long pause and the sounds of the museumgoers around them filled the space instead.

“It seems you’d stolen my heart without me noticing. My job didn’t seem as important as a few more hours with you,” Chanyeol answered and Baekhyun couldn’t believe what he was saying. His brain faltered and he finally gathered enough of a coherent thought together to open his mouth when Chanyeol interrupted him.

“Do you have your phone?”

Baekhyun was so taken aback by the random question that he answered automatically.

“No, I threw it out the moment I left.”

Chanyeol shifted without a word, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his own. He swiped at it for a few seconds as Baekhyun watched then handed it to the other man. Baekhyun gave Chanyeol a strange look but he was looking away, so he took it reluctantly and looked down at the screen.

[7:31 AM] Chanyeol: It’s my second day in Paris. Everything reminds me of you. I still miss you so much.

There was a text a few days before then as well.

[2:10 AM] Chanyeol: I don’t know where you are in the world, but they’re sending me to France soon. I can already see myself looking in the faces of every Parisian for you in them. I’ll probably mistake someone else for your voice even more than I already do.

Another one a few days before that.

[1:43 PM] Chanyeol: I’d take back all the anger in a heartbeat for another second with you.

Baekhyun inhaled a shaky breath when he saw they were all sent to him, to the old contact to his phone he dropped in a trashcan by the coast years ago.

For all that Baekhyun couldn’t forget about Chanyeol, Chanyeol had spent the same amount of time waiting for him too. It seemed even time and distance couldn’t keep the two apart.

Baekhyun set the phone on top of his closed sketchpad and looked down at his thoughts whisked him away, the phone’s screen turning off as he sat there. He could practically feel the anxiety radiating off of Chanyeol as he said nothing, but it was still too much for him to think about, to comprehend in that moment and maybe even for much longer than that.

How long had he been thinking about this moment? Drawing the different snapshots of his life with no one other than him and Chanyeol in them? He’d replayed every moment they’d spent together in America a million times over in his head and had lived his life up to now waiting for that half of him that had been torn away to find him again.

And now, Chanyeol was here. He hadn’t realized it, but Baekhyun hadn’t felt quite as whole in two years as he did right now with him besides him. And maybe they met under the wrong circumstances, and were torn away by oceans and distance and years and bribes and grudges, but they were together now. Despite all the odds, they sat together on a bench in Paris, across the world from where they had first met. And if that wasn’t fate, then Baekhyun didn’t know what was.

He reached across the bench and took Chanyeol’s hand, smiling as he squeezed it and listening to the way Chanyeol let out a small gasp and squeezed it back, a gentle touch filled with more than words could say.


End file.
